Salade Niçoise
° Serves 6
A traditional dish from the South of France, specifically Provence, salade Niçoise is served everywhere there, from large bistros to fancy restaurants, and the variations are practically infinite. My rendition includes canned tuna, anchovy fillets, olives, tomatoes, and basil. Make the salad according to your own taste—some versions include onions (red or yellow), cooked fava beans, artichokes, peppers, tiny string beans (haricots verts), and/or cucumbers—but always include tomatoes, garlic, olives, and greens.
This salad makes an ideal lunch. It is excellent served with pita toasts broken into pieces on top, or with bagel chips, but I especially like it with fougasse, the classic bread from the South of France.
- 8 cups salad greens (such as Boston, red-leaf, or romaine lettuce)
- ½ cup Mustard Vinaigrette
- 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin (1½ tablespoons)
- 6 scallions, cleaned and minced (1 cup)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- One 2-ounce can anchovy fillets in oil (about 12), drained
- One 6½-ounce can tuna in olive oil, drained and crumbled
- About 3 ripe tomatoes (1 pound total), cut into 6 wedges each
- ¾ pound haricot vert
- 3 hard-cooked eggs (see Notes), peeled and quartered
- About 12 basil leaves, coarsely shredded
- About 6 ounces olives (see Notes)
Wash the salad greens thoroughly and dry well in a salad spinner.
Place the dressing in a large bowl and stir in the garlic and scallions. Add the salad greens and salt and toss to mix well.
Arrange the salad on six plates. Decoratively arrange 2 anchovy fillets, about 2 tablespoons of the crumbled tuna, 2 or 3 tomato wedges, some haricot vert, the 2 pieces of hard-cooked egg, some shredded basil, and some of the olives on top of each serving and around the edges of each plate. You can also arrange it on a large platter to serve family-style. Serve immediately.
Notes: To cook the eggs, bring enough water to cover them to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the eggs and simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Drain, place the eggs in ice-cold water until cool enough to handle, and then shell immediately. Cool the shelled eggs in the water until they are completely cold.
If you use tiny Niçoise olives, serve 12 olives per person; if using kalamatas, 6 per person.
