Niçoise Salad
A classic French Niçoise Salad is an entire meal on one platter, with tuna, potatoes, boiled eggs, vegetables, and a bold Dijon vinaigrette.
Equipment
- Glass jar
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 6 hard-boiled eggs peeled and sliced into quarters
- 1 pound (450 grams) baby potatoes yellow or red, sliced in half
- 8 ounces (225 grams) fresh green beans trimmed, sliced in half and blanched, 225g
- 1 heart romaine lettuce chopped
- 8 ounces (225 grams) cherry tomatoes or any other tomatoes, halved if cherry, or quartered if bigger
- 1 small red onion sliced
- 2 5-ounce (280 grams) cans tuna preferably oil-packed chunks, drained
- ½ cup (100 grams) Nicoise olives or kalamata olives - pitted
For the French Vinaigrette (Nicoise Dressing)
- 2 tablespoons finely minced shallot
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 tablespoons (30 grams) capers minced
- 1 tablespoon (20 grams) Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white wine vinegar
- ½ cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional ingredients
- 2 anchovy fillets finely minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley optional
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil optional
Instructions
- Start by steaming the eggs (or use your preferred method for hard-boiled eggs) and blanching the green beans. Soak the sliced red onion in cold water if desired to make it less harsh.
- To cook the potatoes: Add potatoes to a saucepan or a pot and cover by 2 inches with cold water. Add salt, bring to a boil, and cook until soft but not falling apart.
- Make the dressing: In a jar combine the dressing ingredients, and shake until creamy and emulsified. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with ¼ of the dressing.
- To arrange the salad on a serving platter or serving bowl, start by adding the lettuce, followed by the seasoned potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes, onions, tuna chunks, olives, and finally the eggs.
- Drizzle the salad dressing all over the salad and serve.
Notes
- Start the potatoes with cold water. When boiling potatoes, you want to fill the pot with cold water, rather than hot. This lets them cook more evenly.
- Don't forget to salt the potato water too! For even more flavor, you can add a bay leaf to the pot.
- For perfectly boiled eggs, I highly suggest that you steam them. If you use my method for steaming eggs, you'll find that they are super easy to peel.
- I have a whole post about how to blanch green beans too!
- I like to buy whole olives and remove the pits myself using a cherry pitter. They are less expensive and more flavorful this way.
- To Store: You should enjoy this salad shortly after making it, but leftovers will stay in the fridge for up to 2 days. It's best to store the ingredients separately if possible.
- To Make Ahead: Prep the eggs, green beans, potatoes, onions, and dressing up to a day ahead of time and keep them in the fridge. Then assemble the salad when you're ready to serve it.
Nutrition
Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 411mg | Potassium: 453mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 580IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 2mg
Find it online: https://littlesunnykitchen.com/nicoise-salad/