The French Adaptive Re-use Cook-off

One of the many things I've learned from the French is that recycling is next to godliness. The French are absolutely recycle-crazy; they never throw anything away, especially when they can press it into service elsewhere. My Dutch neighbor and I decided to do them one better.

My neighbor Marion has the famous Dutch thrifty gene, and she will renovate/repurpose anything that doesn’t move. AND she’s married to a Frenchman.  So when she was helping me clear up after a large summer party for which I had over-enthusiastically made a mountain of potato salad, she said, “I’ll take some of that leftover salad home and make dinner for you tomorrow night.  I’m going to experiment with it.”

I was puzzled. “What can you make out of cold potato salad?” I asked, warily.

“We’ll see,” was all she said.

So she made off with the salad and a couple of sausages left over from our barbeque.  And what did she do with that potato salad?

She baked it in a pie!

When we arrived for dinner, there was her impressive creation, warm from the oven.  She  had added a couple of beaten eggs, and chopped up the sausage, and she threw in some  shredded gruyère.  With a salad, it made a nice dinner, we called it a tarte aux pommes de terre,  and it  somewhat resembled a classic Spanish omelette.

In the course of dinner, Ron awarded her the Creative Adaptive Re-use Award.  But try as we might, we could only finish half of it.  

Then Marion issued the challenge: it was time for a cook-off.  “You take half, and I’ll take half,” she announced, “and we’ll see what we can do with leftover baked potato salad pie.” We wisely decided to make side dishes,  as a main course seemed unattainable at this point.

And so the battle was on. I went for a soup. I took my half home and  added  some sriracha sauce, and thinned it with light cream and some nice Chardonnay. I threw in some fresh tarragon. Then I hit it with the immersion blender.

To my surprise, it was quite tasty, even better than the tarte, if you could sort of forget about all of  its former lives. 

But once again, Marion got the creativity prize. She pureed the tarte and made it into a (savory) sorbet!  

Now I will have to say that  potato salad pie sorbet is an acquired taste.  Still, I like to think that the frugal French would be proud of us. And our recyling game is the ultimate tribute to avoiding food waste.

So here is the favorite potato salad recipe that started it all, one that has endured chez nous for a good 30 years. Use it as a starting point, and the rest is up to you.

 

RECIPE: The Queen of Potato Salads

I clipped this recipe from the dearly departed Gourmet Magazine a few decades ago. Tossing the warm potatos in vinegar is the key.  I have tweaked it over the years (most importantly adding a soupçon of good, grainy, moutarde de Dijon), and it is the only potato salad I ever make. 

• 2 lb. (1 kilo) boiling potatoes
• several tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 3 boiled eggs, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion, red onion, or chopped scallions (bulbs and tops)
• 3/4 mayonnaise, mixed with salt and pepper and a generous teaspoon of grainy Dijon mustard (or more to taste)

Cover potatoes with salted cold water by 2 inches in a 3-quart saucepan and simmer uncovered until just tender. They should be  just done through to the   middle when pierced with a fork. Start checking them individually at 10 minutes and remove to a colander as they get done. Cool slightly.

 

When potatoes are just cool enough to handle, put a splash of vinegar—about a tablespoon-- and a pinch of salt into a small bowl and stir to dissolve salt. Peel and cut a couple of potatoes into 1-inch pieces and add them to the vinegar mixture, tossing gently with a rubber spatula (they will absorb all the vinegar) then remove to a larger bowl. Add more vinegar and salt and repeat process until all are peeled. Let cool to room temperature, then add remaining ingredients plus additional ground black pepper and stir gently to combine. Taste to correct seasoning and serve chilled.

 

In the COMMENTS: Looks like I have some company in my new-found mocktail habit. "A gin and tonic, hold the gin"--I'm going to steal your line, John!

Colleen, wishing you good health and a full recovery. And many thanks to all who send your good wishes about my long Covid, that was so kind. I'm doing well now, thank you (with only the occasional relapse), but for 8 months or so it was up and down and could get quite bad. And I was in great health, pre-covid--yet another reason to GET THE VACCINE! 

Favorite READS: For those of you who love Martin Walker's French "Bruno  Chief of Police" series as we do, he has a new book out, called The Coldest Case. And a friend recommends a new cookbook, French Comfort Food.