This completes our cold dinner menu: Melon with Dry-cured Ham (no recipe required), Salmon Chaud-Froid, Green Bean and Basil Salad and French Potato Salad.
There are many, many recipes for potato salad – French, German, American.
Some are hot, some are cold, some are creamy some, like this one, aren’t.
This is lightly dressed with with a vinaigrette, lots of tarragon and chives.
French Potato Salad
Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 medium potatoes
- 2 tbs snipped fresh chives
- 1 tbs snipped fresh tarragon
- 1 tbs salad olive oil
- 1 tbs tarragon white wine vinegar
- 1 tbs beef stock
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl whisk olive oil, vinegar and stock.
- Add chives and tarragon and let sit to blend flavors while potatoes cook.
- Slice the potatoes for salad, in small, bite-size pieces.
- Heat a medium saucepan half full of water over medium high heat.
- When water is boiling, add potatoes and cook just until tender when pierced with a sharp knife, 10 – 12 minutes.
- Remove from heat and drain well.
- Add to dressing and stir gently.
- Let rest to absorb flavors and liquid, stirring gently occasionally.
- Allow to cool before serving.
It seems like every small town and village in the area has a summer festival of some type.
Some are art festivals, some are medieval festivals, some are market festivals, some are simply a dinner in the square followed by a dance, all with games for the kids, of course.
They’re different than the art fairs and medieval fairs I used to go to in the US.
In the US the fairs seem to be aimed towards shoppers with lots of artisans selling their wares. The wares vary from inexpensive to very expensive. One can buy pottery and jewelry and glassware and paintings and trinkets and all sorts of food.
Here they seem to be geared more towards the arts with classical concerts at the local church and plays or ballets at the local school and opera in the park. There may or may not be a few local artisans, demonstrating and selling their wares. There is likely a booth selling crepes and always one selling wine.
If it’s a medieval fair their will be people in costume and demonstrations of iron-working or falconry or jousting.
If it’s a medieval fair the games for the kids will be…. Medieval.
The photo of the vulture and the game are from a fair we went to on Sunday. It was a very small fair, just in the square, and definitely geared towards the villagers, not the tourists. We almost felt like intruders.
This particular village is perched on a hilltop with rather spectacular views.
It’s a bastide,, as are many of the villages in this area. A bastide is a ‘new’ town, built in the 13th and 14th century to help defend the area and are found in the south-west of France.
They were built as towns…. actually laid out and constructed according to a plan and usually built by and / or owing fealty to a single individual..
Many, like this one, command excellent views or the surrounding area.
We’re planning on going to a few more fairs this summer.
Watch this space….
If you want nutrition information, try this site: Calorie Count
Sounds like you could go to a different fair every day. Interesting how diverse they are. Here, they may be advertised as being different, but all seem to be very similar.
We’ve got 2 more that we’re hoping to visit this month… and then we have night markets….
I love the sound of your Summer menu. All of those dishes are lovely! This potato salad is great, packed full of herbs. But who would have thought that beef stock would be in there too? How very interesting. I must try that.
I love this season of Summer Fetes everywhere. Always something going on. Always local and full of good spirit. Such a great time of year 🙂
You’d be hard pressed to beat that view! What a delightful way to spend summer.
Of course French potato salad would have tarragon.
Now, if only I could sit and enjoy the view and the potato salad and go to the fair!
annelifaiers, I love the potato salad – and the dash of beef really adds something. Love all the fetes! I got a schedule of all the ones within driving distance.
Tanna, come on over…. You could use a break!