Salade Rachel

Salade Rachel

A classic French bistro salad of warm waxy potatoes, marinated herring, beetroot and cornichons, dressed with a sharp horseradish-Dijon vinaigrette and finished with raw shallot and parsley.

Prep

20 min

Cook

25 min

Total

45 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •600 g (1 lb 5 oz) waxy potatoes (fingerlings or Charlotte), scrubbed, left whole if small, halved if larger
• •200 g (7 oz) marinated herring fillets (rollmops or herring in oil), drained, patted dry, cut on the bias into 2 cm pieces
• •200 g (7 oz) cooked beetroot, vacuum-packed is fine; cut into 1 cm wedges or dice
• •80 g (2¾ oz) cornichons, sliced into thin rounds
• •1 small shallot, finely minced for the dressing
• •1 small shallot, very thinly sliced into rings for finishing
• •2 tsp Dijon mustard
• •2 tsp prepared horseradish, the jarred, vinegar-set kind — not fresh grated for this dressing
• •2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• •4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• •15 g (½ cup loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• •fine sea salt, to taste
• •freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps

1. 1 Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold salted water, bring to a boil and simmer 15–20 minutes until a knife slides in easily but the potatoes still hold their shape. Drain, return to the warm pan, cover with a tea towel and let rest 5 minutes. Halve any larger ones.
2. 2 While the potatoes cook, make the dressing: in a small bowl whisk the minced shallot, Dijon, horseradish and white wine vinegar with a pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Slowly stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly, until you have a tight, glossy emulsion. Taste — it should be assertively sharp.
3. 3 In a wide salad bowl, gently toss the warm potatoes with about two-thirds of the dressing so they absorb the flavour. Let them cool to just barely warm (lukewarm is traditional).
4. 4 Add the sliced cornichons and most of the parsley to the potatoes and toss again. Check seasoning — the potatoes can take more salt than you expect.
5. 5 Spread the dressed potatoes on a platter or divide among four plates. Tuck the herring pieces and beetroot wedges between them in separate clusters so the colours stay distinct (the beetroot will bleed if stirred through).
6. 6 Drizzle the remaining dressing over the herring and beetroot, scatter with the raw shallot rings and the reserved parsley, finish with a grind of pepper, and serve at once.
7. 7 Safety note: marinated herring sold in jars or vacuum packs in Europe is ready to eat as-is. If you are using only salt-cured (dry-salted) herring that has not been marinated or cooked, it must first be desalted in cold water for 12–24 hours and then briefly marinated or seared before serving.