My sacrilegious Niçoise Salad

Oh, the controversy! The lengths people go claiming what should and shouldn’t be included in a Niçoise salad. Boiled potatoes and blanched green beans? A travesty. Fresh grilled tuna as opposed to canned? Never. The sides line up like today’s political arena, with a colorful history of debate dating back to the early 1900s in the French town of Nice. What everyone can agree on, though, is that a Niçoise salad hits all the right notes. With this in mind, I prepared my own version for a recent ladies lunch on a lovely, sunny day. This is an assembled salad, with most components able to be prepared well in advance. I served it family-style on a large platter for a bit of extra drama and beauty. I finished the luncheon with another easy-to-assemble crowd-pleaser: a sundae. Look for this recipe in a future blog post.

Niçoise Salad
Serves 8

10 small-to-medium Yukon gold or red potatoes
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
10 ounces (about 4 cups) green beans, trimmed
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
10 tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1-1/2 pounds fresh tuna fillets, each about 1-1/4-inch thick 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 fresh lemon
1/2 cup Niçoise olives
5 heads little gem lettuce, butter lettuce, or combination of soft lettuces, washed and     separated into leaves
1-3/4 cups dressing (recipe below)

Directions

1. Potatoes: Cover potatoes with cold, salted water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until a knife pierces them, about 20 minutes. Do not overcook. Rinse in a colander under cold water, then let dry until they are warm but not too hot to handle.

2. Peel potatoes and chunk into bite-size pieces. Place in a bowl with capers, parsley, and just enough dressing to bind. Taste for salt and pepper. Cover and set aside. Do not refrigerate. Dressing can be done up to six hours in advance.

3. Beans: While the potatoes are cooking, bring a saucepan of water to boil. Add a tablespoon of salt and the green beans. Return water to a boil and blanch until beans are tender but still have a crunch. Depending on their size, this is between 30 and 90 seconds of boiling. You can pull out a bean and bite it to see if it is done. Al dente is the key! Place beans in a colander under cold water and keep tossing them until they are cooled. Let drain, then wrap in paper towels, place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate until needed. This can be done up to six hours in advance.

4. Eggs: Hard-boil your eggs by bringing a pot of water to boil. Use a spoon to carefully submerge eggs fully in the water. After 30 seconds, add 10 ice cubes to the water. When water returns to a boil, simmer eggs for 11 minutes. Place pan under cold water and peel eggs. This method ensures the peels slip right off. Place whole eggs in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until you’re assembling the salad.

5. Tomatoes: Wash and cut tomatoes in half, then in four wedges, so you have eight pieces per tomato. Place in a bowl. Sprinkle with two tablespoons salad dressing, salt and pepper, and the basil. Toss, cover, and set aside. No need to refrigerate. Can be done up to six hours in advance.

6. Tuna: Up to three hours in advance, lightly salt and pepper the tuna. Heat a skillet over high to medium-high heat, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When oil is hot, add tuna, being sure to not crowd. Cook 3 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 2 minutes. Turn heat off and let tuna sit in the pan for a minute before transferring to a cutting board. Pour any pan juices into a bowl large enough to hold the tuna. When tuna is cool, chunk and place in bowl. Pour a tablespoon of dressing over the tuna and squeeze the half of lemon over it as well. Gently toss, cover and refrigerate until using. 

Assembly

Make this salad a piece of culinary art! Arrange the various ingredients so everyone enjoys the salad’s bounty. In a large bowl, toss the lettuces lightly with freshly ground pepper, salt, and just enough dressing to coat the leaves. Arrange the lettuce as a base on the platter. Place the green beans in a small bowl and toss in enough dressing to coat. Taste the potatoes and see if they need more salt or dressing. Quarter the eggs just before platting. When arranging the tomatoes, leave excess liquid from them in the bowl. Visually divide your platter and decide if you are creating individual mounds of potatoes, beans, tomatoes, eggs, tuna, and olives or, instead, arranging them into two, three, even four piles. I choose to do three (and offer three sets of serving pieces). You can, of course, do individual plates, but a large platter is a showstopper. Serve extra salad dressing in a small pitcher.

Salad Dressing
Makes 1-3/4 cups 

1/3 cup champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
1 teaspoon minced shallot 
1 cup olive oil

 Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a bottle and shake to blend. Can be made up to four hours prior to using.

2. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper or additional oil or vinegar.