An Authentic French Salad Recipe From A Home In Auvergne
This is an authentic, easy, and satisfying salad to make. I call it authentic because my research has produced over 50 variations on the recipe, all of which profess to be authentic, and probably are, as there are usually many delicious variations to all dishes! The Salade Niçoise is well known for its many creative variants!
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It can get quite cold among the Auvergne mountains, even at the height of summer, so a filling and hearty salad is ideal.
So, to be sure I had an authentic recipe, I asked a friend who was visiting a friend living in the Auvergne to ask her mother to make this renowned salad.
This is what she came up with and I think it is wonderful!
If you are curious about other types of salad then see my Complete Salad Guide.
📝Ingredient List
- potatoes
- sea salt
- mixed green salad, ideally make your own from whatever is currently available at the market
- cured ham
- Cantal, Tomme, Comte, or Swiss cheese or Fourme d'Ambert if you like strong blue cheese
- shallot
- chives
- And, add other vegetables, as I have done here, cucumbers and tomatoes.
Dressing
- table salt
- apple cider vinegar
- black pepper
- Dijon mustard (although English mustard works very well, too)
- walnut oil or avocado oil
🔢Instructions
- Cook the potatoes in their skins in salted water for about 20 minutes. Then air dry while they cool, peel them, and cut them into slices or cubes.
- While the potatoes cook prepare the vegetables and make the dressing.
- When the potatoes are cool and cut up, mix the salad in the dressing bowl in this order.
- Add the salad greens, and toss well for about 3 minutes.
- Then add the potatoes, ham, and cheese.
- Add the shallot and chives, and toss again.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, do you need more salt or pepper?
- Then serve immediately.
How To Make The Dressing
Prepare a smooth vinaigrette by mixing in the following order.
- Start with the apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper, stirring well with a whisk in a bowl large enough to hold the entire salad.
- Then add the mustard and stir.
- Next add the oil a little at a time, whisking until the dressing is smooth.
- Mix in the shallot last.
Be creative and try these many salad dressings.
🔄Substitutions & Variations
- A sharp old cheddar would also be an acceptable replacement if Cantal is unavailable.
- Fourme d'Ambert if you like strong blue cheese is lovely.
- Tomme, Comte, or Swiss cheese will also work well.
- You could add some chopped walnuts if you wish.
- And, add other vegetables, as I have done cucumbers and tomatoes.
❔FAQ
Cheese.com has an in-depth description of the origins of this cheese and what it is like. When well aged it has a thick crust and because it is aged a long time it is more strongly flavored and is a typical hard cheese with a firm, brittle, and crumbly paste.
Other Great French Salads
📖 Recipe
Authentic Salade Auvergnate
Ingredients
- 6 medium-sized potatoes - do not peel
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- mixed green salad ideally make your own from whatever is currently available at the market, chop the salad, but not too fine.
- 2 slices of cured ham cut into ½ inch wide strips
- 500 gram/ 1 cup Cantal cheese or Fourme d'Ambert if you like strong blue cheese, cut into cubes
- 1 shallot peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
Variant:
- You could add some chopped walnuts if you wish.
- And add other vegetables, as I have done cucumbers and tomatoes.
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard although English mustard works very well, too
- 3 tablespoons walnut oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes in their skins in salted water for about 20 minutes. Then air dry while they cool, peel them, and cut them into slices or cubes.
- While the potatoes cook prepare the vegetables and make the dressing.
- When the potatoes are cool and cut up, mix the salad in the dressing bowl in this order.
- Add the salad greens, and toss well for about 3 minutes.
- Then add the potatoes, ham, and cheese.
- Add the shallot and chives, and toss again.
- Check and adjust the seasoning, do you need more salt or pepper?
- Then serve immediately.
How To Mix The Dressing
- Prepare a smooth vinaigrette by mixing in the following order.
- Start with the apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper, stirring well with a whisk in a bowl large enough to hold the entire salad.
- Then add the mustard and stir.
- Next add the oil a little at a time, whisking until the dressing is smooth.
- Mix in the shallot last.
Did you make this & like it or not, let us know?!