Serves 3–4
Preparation time 20 minutes, plus cooling
Cooking time 25 minutes
100 g (3½ oz) wild rice
150 g (5 oz) French beans, topped and tailed, then halved
300 g (10 oz) large mackerel fillets, pin-boned
90 ml (3½ fl oz) olive oil
12 black olives
8 canned anchovy fillets, drained and halved
250 g (8 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
3 hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon French mustard
2 tablespoons chopped chives
salt and pepper
Cook the rice in plenty of boiling water for 20–25 minutes until tender. (The grains will start to split open when they are just cooked.) Add the French beans and cook for another 2 minutes.
Lay the mackerel, skin side up, on a foil-lined grill rack, while the rice is cooking. Brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil and cook under a preheated medium-hot grill for 8–10 minutes, turning after the first 5 minutes, until cooked through; the second side should not take as long to cook as the first. Leave to cool.
Drain the rice and beans and mix together in a salad bowl with the olives, anchovies, tomatoes and eggs. Flake the mackerel, discarding any stray bones, and add to the bowl.
Whisk the remaining oil with the lemon juice, mustard and chives in a small bowl, and season with a little salt and pepper. Add to the bowl.
Toss the ingredients together lightly, cover and chill until ready to serve.
For fresh tuna & wild rice niçoise, replace the mackerel with 4 x 200 g (7 oz) fresh tuna steaks, frying them in a little olive oil for 2–3 minutes on each side so that they are just pink in the centre. Continue the recipe as above.