Small purple potatoes may take a lot longer to grow than other potatoes, and they may not keep as long, but they certainly do look spectacular in this salad next to the blue-black shells of the mussels. Red new potatoes also look and taste good with this slightly French, but decidedly Californian, salad.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cut in half, and keep arm. In a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a rolling simmer. Add the mussels and herbes de Provence. Cover and cook just until the mussels open, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a bowl. Discard any mussels that did not open. Line a fine mesh sieve with cheesecloth and strain the pan juices through it into a small bowl. Return the juices to the pan and place over medium-low heat. Simmer to reduce the juices by one-half Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. If desired, remove all but 6 mussels from their shells; reserve the unshelled mussels for decorating the dish. In a salad bowl, toss the potatoes and mussels with the pan juices. Sprinkle with the parsley or chervil, chives, and pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the reserved mussels on top. Serve warm.

Serves 6 to 8