The Nicoise Salad is one of the great French culinary concoctions. It is simple, fresh tasting, and a nutritiously power-packed dish. It is a wonderful salad to make for a buffet table or pot-luck, as it allows people to take the ingredients that suite their particular diets and preferences.
It is also a great make-ahead salad. Everything can be cooked ahead of time and chilled, and then assembled before serving.
Nicoise Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound red-skinned potatoes quartered
- 10 ounces haricots verts or thin green beans trimmed
- 10-12 ounces high quality tuna canned or freshly cooked
- 4 large hard-boiled eggs peeled and halved
- 1 purple Daikon radish sliced
- 1/2 shallot minced (about 1 tablespoons)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon chopped herbs - fresh thyme parsley, and chives are the best
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 head Boston lettuce leaves separated
- 10-12 Kalamata or Nicoise olives
- 2 tablespoons capers
- A few very thinly sliced rings of red onion
- Handful of fresh basil leaves
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20-25 minutes.
- Drain and set aside.
- Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes or so, until they are bright green.
- Drain and plunge into ice water for a minute or rinse under cold water.
- Dry the beans with paper towels.
- In a small bowl add the shallots, garlic, Dijon mustard, honey, herbs, and vinegar.
- Using a small whisk or fork, vigorously stir the ingredients as you pour the olive oil into the bowl in a slow and steady stream.
- Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
- Arrange the lettuce on a platter.
- Place the potatoes, green beans, and tuna in separate rows on the platter.
- Chiffonade or chop the basil leaves and sprinkle them over the top of the salad.
- Scatter the olives, radish slices tomatoes, basil, and capers over the salad.
- Arrange with the lemon wedges and eggs around the platter.
- Serve the dressing on the side.
Notes
I sometimes like to make this as a tossed salad for more casual meals. To do this, I tear the lettuce into smaller pieces, smash the potatoes with the back of a fork to break them up a bit, chop the eggs, cut the green beans into 1-inch pieces, and toss with the rest of the ingredients. It is delicious and still very pretty served this way.
Enjoy!
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