Salade Nicoise

About This Recipe

Salade nicoise comes from Nice on the French Riviera, a composed salad -- meaning ingredients are arranged rather than tossed together -- built around tuna (traditionally fresh, seared or preserved in oil), tender green beans, boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, nicoise olives, and anchovies, all dressed simply in a vinaigrette. There's genuine debate in Nice over what belongs in an authentic version (some purists reject potatoes and green beans entirely, insisting on only raw vegetables), but the internationally known version includes both. The technique that matters most in a salade nicoise is component preparation: each element is cooked or prepared separately and to its own ideal point -- green beans blanched until crisp-tender, potatoes boiled and cooled, eggs boiled to a specific yolk consistency (usually just past soft, with a slightly jammy center) -- then arranged on a platter rather than combined and dressed all at once, which would compromise each ingredient's individual texture. Served at room temperature as a light lunch or starter, dressed with a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing, salade nicoise is summer food from the French Riviera, meant to showcase good quality individual ingredients rather than a complex preparation.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300 ggreen beans(trimmed)
• 400 gsmall potatoes(boiled and halved)
• 4eggs(hard-boiled, halved)
• 2tomatoes(cut into wedges)
• 250 ggood quality tuna in oil(drained and chunked)
• 0.5 cupnicoise olives
• 8anchovy fillets
• 1 headlettuce(leaves separated)
• 5 tbspolive oil
• 2 tbspred wine vinegar
• 1 tspdijon mustard
• 0.5 tspsalt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the green beans

   Boil green beans in salted water 4-5 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge into ice water to stop cooking, then drain again.

2. 2

   Make the vinaigrette

   Whisk olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper together until emulsified.

3. 3

   Line the platter

   Arrange lettuce leaves on a large platter as a base.

4. 4

   Arrange the components

   Arrange green beans, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, and tuna in separate sections over the lettuce.

5. 5

   Add olives and anchovies

   Scatter olives across the salad and drape anchovy fillets over top.

6. 6

   Dress and serve

   Drizzle the vinaigrette over everything just before serving, or serve on the side for guests to add themselves.

Variations

• •

  Purists in Nice traditionally exclude cooked potatoes and green beans, using only raw vegetables -- try this stricter version for a different, crunchier salad.

• •

  Use fresh seared tuna steak instead of canned for a more modern, restaurant-style presentation.

• •

  Add artichoke hearts or fava beans in season for a more elaborate spring version.

Storage

Best assembled and eaten the same day. Store components separately in the fridge up to 2 days and assemble just before serving to keep textures intact.

Frequently Asked Questions