Salad Nicoise
October 6, 2009 mains, salad, seafood
Because I’ve had this delightful salad a few times, I remember the core ingredients (tuna, potato, eggs, lettuce, beans, and olives) and I improvise with the rest. I never remember how to do a traditional dressing, so today I went part inpro and part reference. For the dressing I took it straight from Damien Pignolet’s book “French”.
Serves: 2
Prep: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients:
6 cos lettuce leaves washed and cut into 2 inch wide pieces
6 baby potatoes pealed and halved
2 eggs boiled and cut into quarters
A handful of beans (I’ve used butter beans, but you can use green beans)
¼ capsicum thinly sliced lengthwise
12 kalamata olives
½ Spanish onion sliced thinly (rings halved)
6 semi sun dried tomato’s cut length wise into three
6 anchovy fillets cut in half
Dressing:
3 lugs of olive oil
1 lug of red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Put two eggs on the boil – cook so they are firm, but still a dark yellow in the centre. Don’t overcook.
2. Meanwhile make your dressing so that the flavours can develop while you are cooking. Squash a garlic clove with the flat of your knife and use the inner flesh to rub the inside of a bowl and discard the debris. Add olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper – then whisk together. Taste. Ensure it has a sharp but not over powering vinegar flavour.
3. Once your eggs are out you can use the boiling water to get the potatos started.
4. Meanwhile, chop the other ingredients you need and begin to combine. Get the olives in, the anchovies, sundried tomatoes, cos lettuce, capsicum, and Spanish onion.
5. Get your tuna out and oil it, rub salt and pepper on it then leave for a few minutes until your ready.
6. Chop the ends off your green beans and when there is only a few minutes left to go for the potatoes throw them in a steamer and pop it on top of the potatoes.
7. Peal the egg and cut into quarters, set aside. You should place these on the plate at the end as they will break up if tossed into the salad.
8. In a really hot pan sear the tuna for about three minutes each side ensuring there is a crust on the outside, but that it remains quite rare inside but heated through. Take off the heat, then pull together the last few steps while allowing to rest.
9. Meanwhile, you should have taken the beans and the potatoes off the stove and given them a few minutes to cool (only slightly so that they are not steaming). Now is time to mix the potato and beans with your salad and the dressing.
10. Slice the tuna longwise.
11. Compile the final touches of the salad by placing the fresh salad ingredients onto a plate, lay the quartered egg pieces around the side and then layer the sliced tuna into the center.
12. Done. Eat.