Salad Nicoise is one of my all time favourite Summertime salads. Come to think about it, it's pretty good in Wintertime too. I guess that's why I decided to whip one up today.
Don't be fooled by the photograph. It may look sunny and nice outside but I froze my butt off getting that photo.
Just after shooting the picture, it began to snow quite heavily and my salad was covered in white stuff by the time I got it indoors.
That's just one of the negatives of food blogging. I'm not complaining though. There are a lot more positives than there are negatives.
How to get this salad nicoise recipe right...
Try to find the freshest tuna available. The steaks I used were sashimi grade so I almost hated to cook them at all. The flavour and texture of tuna that fresh is out of this world.
Obviously, it is also really important to use the freshest veggies you can get your hands on. Oh, and only use free range eggs. Barn eggs just won't do.
I like to chill everything before serving including the plates and fork. Get you plates and forks in the freezer and you will notice the amazing results.
So then, here you go. This is really quite an easy salad, as salads go. Enjoy.
TIP: Never ever use canned tuna! It's great in a sandwich but when preparing a salad nicoise, only fresh tuna steaks will do.
If you like this recipe, you might like to try some of these too.
Ceasar Salad
Tandoori Salmon Salad
Capresi Salad
Classic California Ranch Dressing
Recipe
Salad Nicoise With Creamy Vinaigrette Dressing
Ingredients
- 10 Cherry Tomatoes – halved or quartered
- 4 eggs – Boiled for 8 minutes (exactly)
- 8 new potatoes – boiled until tender
- 2 x 250g fresh tuna steaks
- Olives – Nice juicy ones – as many as you can eat
- 200g Green beans – trimmed and boiled until tender
- Lettuce – As much as you want
- 4 pieces of streaky bacon – fried until crisp
- FOR THE DRESSING
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons butter milk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic – minced
- 2 spring onions – finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 20 capers
- 3 tablespoon – finely chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon brandy
Instructions
- Start by making your dressing.
- Simply whisk all the dressing ingredients together and then chill for about an hour in the fridge.
- Heat a large pot of lightly salted water. When boiling, add the new potatoes and eggs. Remember to remove the eggs after eight minutes. Peel the shells of the eggs and cut into quarters.
- Continue cooking the potatoes until they are tender and then remove from the water.
- Place the green beans in the water and simmer until tender. This should only take a few minutes.
- When the beans are cooked, drain and set aside to cool.
- Now you are ready to cook the tuna steaks, heat a frying pan with about two tablespoons of olive oil until very hot.
- Season the tuna steaks on both sides with salt and pepper and then sear for about one minute per side. The centre should be nice and rare.
- Carve the tuna steaks into thin slices and set aside to rest while you build your salad.
- You don’t really need me to tell you how to build your salad now do you. Just place the ingredients you like on a plate. Tell your guests to do the same.
- Top with the tuna slices and dig in.
- I like to top the tuna with a little left over salad dressing if there is any.
I hope you enjoy this salad nicoise recipe as much as my family and I do. If you do give it a try, don't be a stranger! Leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.