A Warm French Salad

Filed in archive Recipes on November 20, 2007

There is a wonderful, smoked, cumin scented sausage here that we rarely eat because I'm never quite sure what to do with it. It is called Saucisse de Montbéliard and comes from the mountainous France-Comté region of eastern France.

Last week I decided to just buy a link and figure out a recipe later.



I ended up making a very wintery potato and sausage salad that I served on a bed of dressed romaine lettuce leaves. Other than slightly overcooking the potatoes, it was really, really good!

Warm French Potato and Sausage Salad
serves 4

1 pound boiling potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
3 tablespoons canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 pound smoked sausage, such as Montbéliard or kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 large head romaine lettuce, torn up

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan of salted water, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and toss them gently with the chicken broth and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper.
Slowly whisk in the oil.
Put a large nonstick frying pan over moderate heat. Add the smoked sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is brown and warmed through, about 3 minutes.
Remove the sausage and drain on paper towels.
Toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the dressing and the parsley then toss the romaine with the remaining dressing.
Put the lettuce on plates and top with the potatoes and sausage.
Enjoy!