Let me just start off my saying that this was not the most photogenic dish. Carrots, potatoes, peas and pickles mixed with sour cream and mayo. Very, very tasty but not the prettiest of dishes.
This was made by Tati's sister Teja. I'm not sure where the recipe originated from, but Teja makes it all the time at home in Slovenija. She made it for us a few years ago when she visited, and she made it again this last visit.
I don't know why it's called French Potato Salad either, neither does Teja. What I do know is that somehow this combination works and this time I had Tati write the recipe down while she made it, which wasn't an easy task since Teja doesn't measure anything. She just throws it all in a bowl and adds a little of this and a little of that until it looks right.
So bear with on this one, but trust in me enough to know that this is one delicious alternative to the boring ole potato salad most of us are used to. It makes a lot, and that's a good thing cause I could eat this by the truck full.
French Potato Salad
recipe from Teja
Printable recipe
4 medium sized potatoes, cut into a small dice, boil and cook until just tender.
3 - 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
12 pickles, finely chopped
3 cans of carrot/pea medley
1 small jar of mayonnaise (do not use Miracle Whip)
6 tablespoons of sour cream
1 - 2 tablespoons mustard (she used yellow)
salt & pepper to taste
Get a very big bowl, and dump all the ingredients in it. Stir gently. Chill and serve.
That's it.
So once you can get over the fact that this is one of those "it ain't pretty, but it sure is good" kinda recipes, I think you're going to agree with me, that sometimes looks really don't matter.
A couple of years ago, I worked with a young woman from Ukraine. The week after Christmas, I asked her what foods they traditionally ate for New Years. She told me about a potato salad that sounds just like this.
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious. What kind of pickles did your friend use?
Sage she used a German pickle that we found here in RI. I'm sure a dill would work well. The German pickles are very similar to our dills.
ReplyDeleteIt may not be the prettiest of dishes but is sure does sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteAHHHHA!
ReplyDeleteSo my friend DIDN'T make that dish up! I have a friend from Ukraine and she brings that dish to potlucks. When we first saw it, we couldn't believe it. It looked like she just dumped all her leftovers into a bowl. We said she couldn't think of what to bring and just made it up and it just happened to taste good. Ha ha. She said they make it all the time where she comes from.
I was a bit timid to try it, but it's actually very good!
GGH - sorry she's been making that dish for years and years. Now you can tell your friend "BUSTED", lol.
ReplyDeleteHi! In all ex-Soviet Russia this traditional new-year-eve (like champagne and tangerins) salad has name "Salade Olivier".
ReplyDeleteIt's not the real thing, just soviet version (often with some meat). Look at wikipedia if you want http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_salad
Maybe this is the reason you have "french" in its name?
Beauty is in the taste bud on the tongue. And reading this recipe, I think my taste buds would find this quite beautiful indeed! Love the dice; that's something I've never done and as far as the jar of mayo goes, well....I suppose it's the season to forget about it and just enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI'm Hungarian and we make it all the time too, some people even put apples in it.
ReplyDelete