Nicoise Salad is a vibrant, French-inspired dish featuring fresh ingredients like green beans, potatoes, olives, and tuna, all beautifully arranged and drizzled with a tangy dressing.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 people
Ingredient | Quantity | Notes |
Green Beans | 4/5 lb | stem end cut off |
Potato | 9 3/5 | small, try an heirloom variety such as Yellow Finn Creamers, German Butterball or Bintje |
Olives | 10 2/5 | mix or one kind only - Castelvetrano, Nicoise, Kalamata, Lucques |
Tuna | 4/5 jar | 6.7 oz, olive oil packed |
Egg | 2 2/5 | |
Radicchio | 1/5 head | |
Chives | 2/5 bunch | |
Parsley | 4 sprig | |
Olive Oil | 1 3/5 tbsp | extra virgin |
Red Wine Vinegar | 4/5 tsp | |
Salt | 4/5 tsp | |
Dijon Mustard | 4/5 tsp | |
Red Wine Vinegar | 1 3/5 tsp | |
Olive Oil | 4 4/5 tbsp |
PREPARATION
Cook the potatoes.
Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water. Add 2 TB salt to the cooking water. Simmer until tender, 20 minutes. To test, prick with a fork. If it slides in easily, the potatoes are done. For this dish, an over cooked potato is better than an undercooked one! Strain. Place in a bowl. Add the finely chopped chives and parsley. Add the 2 TB olive oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp salt and many grinds of black pepper. Mix well and taste for seasoning. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 °F (205°C).
Toss the green beans with 1 TB EVO and ¼ tsp salt. Place on a sheet tray and roast in the oven until just soft and slightly charred, 15 minutes. Stir and rotate tray halfway through cooking.
Hardboil the eggs.
Place the eggs in a small pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a high simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover pot and let sit for 8 minutes. Use a timer! Immediately place eggs into a bowl of ice water. After cooled, peel the shells away and slice in half.
Pit the olives.
This is my favorite restaurant trick. Using the meat of your palm or the butt of a large knife, press down flatly on the olive oil, essentially smashing it in half. The pit will now be very easy to remove! Leave in big chunks or chop a few times, depending on how you prefer to eat them.
Make the dressing.
In a bowl whisk together the dijon and the red wine vinegar. Add the salt and a few grinds of pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil, mixing the entire time until emulsified.
Plate up!
Tear the radicchio into large bite sized pieces. On a large platter, cover half with the lettuces and the radicchio. Place the green beans in one pile, the potatoes in another, and the same for the tuna. Tuck the egg halves in here and there. Scatter the olives over all. Drizzle all with the dressing or serve on the side.