A potentially classic Niçoise salad
March 20th, 2008
Last week, I had a bunch of olives left over from testing recipes for the root source on Kalamata olives. After all that salty fare, I was craving a simple, vegetable-heavy salad. So I built a kind of Niçoise salad.
There will always be debate about which ingredients make up the classic salade Niçoise. Does it have potatoes? Boiled eggs? Roasted red peppers? Anchovies?
For me, as long as the main ingredients are tuna, steamed or blanched potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and olives, it’s going to be a delicious salad reminiscent of Nice.
Here’s how I went about putting this version together:
I started by filling a wok with a couple of inches of water, putting a two-level bamboo steamer over the water, and bringing the water to a boil.
Meanwhile, I cut a few Yukon Gold potatoes into quarters.
When the water was boiling and the steamer filled with steam, I scattered the potatoes in the bottom level. Since the potatoes would take longer to steam than the green beans, I put the lid on top and let them go for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, I trimmed a handful of green beans and cut the long ones in half.
I removed the lid, put the second level of the steamer on top of the first one, and sprinkled in the green beans. I put the lid on and let the beans catch up with the potatoes.
While the potatoes and green beans were steaming, I pitted a handful of Kalamata olives.
When the green beans and potatoes were tender, I removed them to a plate to cool, and sprinkled them lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
For the dressing, I whisked together a couple of tablespoons each of olive oil and lemon juice, and seasoned it generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
I arranged the potatoes and green beans on a plate along with the olives, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes, a can of olive-oil-packed tuna and 3 anchovy fillets. I drizzled it all with the dressing and sat down to eat.
The balance between the fresh steamed vegetables, salty anchovies, meaty tuna, sweet tomatoes and tart dressing was really satisfying.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
This looks great, Brys. Of course the worst Niçoise I’ve ever had was in Nice.
March 21st, 2008 at 12:17 am
I am not a Nicoise fan, even though my name closely resembles it. I love tuna, but I lived in Spain for 4 months and those Spaniards put canned tuna in some strange things like on pizza, in eggs….It sorta put me off tuna in non-traditional dishes. I still love it sashimi style or even as “tuna salad ON” a sandwich, but not “tuna ON salad”.
Spain also introduced me too and swore me off of white asparagus and artichokes. They eat cold white asparagus from a jar as an appetizer and that’s what our host lady served many times. It’s one of the most disgusting dishes that no amount of fake toast can hide. We were also always served artichoke soup, which was basically artichokes boiled in water and a touch of olive oil. Ok at first, but it got real old real fast. So in conclusion, the combo of tuna and asparagus in this salad is a bit daunting at first for me, but I’ve had a nicoise salad before that used seared ahi tuna and found it pretty appetizing =).
*End Rant*
- Peanut Butter Boy
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
I ate an OK Niçoise at a cafe yesterday. I share your view on the 5 essential ingredients. My recipe is similar except that I served mine with the traditional French vinaigrette (with Dijon mustard and shallots).
Kristin, you were unlucky I guess because I enjoyed wonderful Niçoise while I visited Nice. I tested several. But yes, some were better than others.