The Niçoise salad
is a classic French dish consisting of all fresh, uncooked veggies with tuna
and anchovies and was made famous in America by none other than Julia Child. This non-traditional take includes mostly raw veggies, egg and red potatoes, along
with the traditional green beans, olives, tomatoes, etc. and is served with a
Dijon based vinaigrette.
INGREDIENTS
Salad
·
8 small red potatoes, cooked in salted water
until tender but not mushy
·
2 lbs haricot vert (green
beans), trimmed, blanched in boiling water but still crunchy
·
10 Italian plum tomatoes, quartered (I like to
use the oval shaped cherry tomatoes)
·
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
·
1/2 cup black olives (Nicoise or Cailletier olives are traditional but
Kalamata works well)
·
pinch of salt
·
1 tsp pepper
·
3/4 cup dressing (recipes follows)
·
6 hard boiled eggs, quartered
·
12 oz cooked tuna filet (canned, water-packed
white tuna will do in a pinch)
·
2 oz anchovy fillets
Salad Dressing
·
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
·
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
·
1/2 cup olive oil
·
1 tsp sugar (I’ve omitted this in the past, but
it really doesn’t taste as good without)
·
1/2 tsp salt
·
1/2 tsp pepper
·
1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley (don’t
omit, it makes a difference).
PREPARATION
·
Assemble all ingredients, except eggs and tuna, in a
large bowl or on a serving platter.
·
Whisk the mustard and vinegar until smooth. Add the olive oil in a
slow steady stream, whisking steadily until it thickens and emulsifies (I stop
adding oil as soon as it thickens, as I like my dressing on the sour side). Add
sugar, salt, and pepper. Mix to blend. Incorporate chopped parsley.
·
Gently toss the salad ingredients to mix. Pour almost all of the
dressing over, toss to blend. Arrange the eggs around the outside of the dish,
the tuna in the center, and drizzle the remaining dressing over the tuna and
eggs, making sure to moisten each yolk. Top with additional chopped parsley.
Serve chilled, with a good quality French baguette, preferably on
a front porch on a late spring or summer evening. Throw in a bottle of Pinot
Grigio, kick back, watch the sunset and enjoy!
