French potato salad; No egg

I had to make a potato salad today. It was my contribution to a Mother's Day dinner. Bill, the gentleman hosting the party, requested the potato salad as he loves my wife's cold potato salad made with hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise. He figured I could use Judy's recipe.

The problem with Bill's request was the egg. Egg is off limits for me as it is for Bill's brother. He has heart problems as I do. Eggs are exceedingly high in cholesterol and dietary cholesterol is a no-no to those with heart disease.

I found a recipe for French potato salad posted by a Swedish blogger by the name of Ewa (Eva). She lives in Seattle, WA., and enjoys sharing her recipes. I don't believe she'd mind my posting a link to her site and her recipe for French potato salad: Delishhh.

I made some small changes to the recipe. I used a little less olive oil and a little less salt than called for and I added some roasted, chopped walnuts immediately before serving. I used my Cuisinart blender to mix the olive oil, champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper into an emulsion. I tried whipping it manually but failed. The blender was the perfect answer.

I put the scallions, dill, parsley and basil in a bowl and mixed all together before adding all to the salad. As I mixed the salad, I salted and peppered it to taste but on the conservative side. I figure folk can always add more salt and pepper at the table. It is impossible to remove if added with too heavy a hand.

So, what was the verdict? Was my, or should I say Ewa's, recipe as good as my wife's? I believe it was. Bill, a tough critic at times, said the best two potato salads he has every tasted both came from my home. One was Judy's and the other was mine (Ewa's).

This potato salad is not for who fear calories. The olive oil adds fat and calories. This is one reason that I cut back on the olive oil in my version. But for those on a heart healthy diet, a serving of this squeaks by on the heart healthy side. This salad contains no saturated fat and no cholesterol.