Light Niçoise Salad Recipes

LIGHT NIçOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Put potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl; drizzle with 1/4 cup vinaigrette and let cool.
• While potatoes are cooking, make the vinaigrette by whisking all vinaigrette ingredients together in a small jar or bowl. I find it easiest to mix up dressings in a small jar and then shake the jar to combine all ingredients. Also, cut tomatoes and toss in a small bowl with salt and pepper. Chop eggs and radishes. Set all aside.
• Bring a separate saucepan of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with salted ice water. Add the green beans to the boiling water; cook until crisp-tender and bright green, 3 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to cool; drain and pat dry.
• Divide lettuce among 4 plates. Arrange the potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, radishes, green beans and tuna on top. Drizzle with dressing and top with the olives.

SALADE NIçOISE

Steps:

• Potatoes: Fill a small saucepan with water. Add potatoes, thyme sprig, bay leaf, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Haricots vert: Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. When boiling, add a big pinch of salt, followed by haricots verts. Cook until tender with a slight snap, 4-9 minutes depending on size. Eggs: Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. When boiling, use a spoon to gently ease eggs into the water. Cook exactly 7½ minutes. Meanwhile, prepare two ice baths: Fill two large bowls with water and plenty of ice.
• Scallions: Trim away the very end of the root while keeping scallion intact; remove the thick outer layer. Cut away the dark green top, leaving a 3-inch length of white and light-green scallion. Make several 1-inch vertical cuts down the top to create a scallion "brush." Repeat with all the scallions and place them in an ice bath to preserve freshness. Radishes: Slice each radish lengthwise into thin slices. Set aside.
• When beans are mostly tender with a touch of firmness, use a strainer to transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Remove eggs and place them into the same ice bath. Check potatoes for doneness by piercing one with a knife; there should be no resistance. Remove potatoes and set aside; discard thyme and bay leaf. Peel eggs, slice in half lengthwise, and set aside.
• Assembly: On a serving platter, layer the Boston lettuce, followed by the baby gem. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and distribute evenly, followed by haricots verts, scallions, whole tomatoes, radish, large chunks of tuna, and eggs. Garnish with leaves of basil and chervil.
• Pit olives (optional): Place olives on a flat surface. Press the bottom of a small bowl on the olives to loosen their pits; remove and discard the pits. Scatter the pitted olives over the salad. Next, tuck small bunches of arugula within the lettuce. Finally, finish assembling the salad by laying about 10 anchovies evenly across the top.
• Chef Boulud offers two options for dressing the salad. Lemon & Oil Dressing: Zest lemon evenly over the salad, then sprinkle with lemon juice. Drizzle with olive oil, and finish with pepper and salt. (Note: Use salt with moderation, since the tuna and anchovies are already salted.) Grand-Mère's Vinaigrette: In a bowl, add the sliced garlic and a pinch of salt. Use a fork to mash the garlic into a coarse paste. Add mustard, vinegar, and pepper; stir to combine. Add olive oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly with the fork to emulsify. Add a teaspoon of water at a time, whisking between additions, to thin vinaigrette as desired. Place vinaigrette into a serving dish and serve alongside the salad.

QUICK NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Place potatoes in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, until tender, 8-10 minutes, adding green beans during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain potatoes and beans; immediately drop into ice water. Drain and pat dry., In a small bowl, combine salad dressing, lemon zest and pepper. Divide romaine among 4 plates; arrange potatoes, green beans, eggs, tuna and tomatoes over romaine. Serve with dressing mixture.

LIGHT AND EASY NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Bring the potatoes to a boil in a largesaucepan of water. Add salt; reduce heat,and simmer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain; let cool slightly.
• Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces;peelany loose skins. Dress with enoughvinaigrette to coat lightly (reserve remainder). Season with salt and pepper.Set potatoes aside.
• Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.Cover eggs with water in a small saucepan; bring to a full boil. After 1 minute,cover and turn off heat. Let stand 6 minutes. Rinse; transfer to ice-water bath.
• Prepare another ice-water bath; setaside. Bring a medium saucepan of waterto a boil; add salt. Blanch green beansuntil crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain;rinse with cold water. Let stand in ice-water bath until cool. Drain; pat dry.
• Peel the eggs, and halve lengthwise.Arrange lettuce, then potatoes, greenbeans, bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber,fennel, tuna, eggs, and olives on a platter.
• Sprinkle with scallion and parsley,and with capers if desired. Drizzle withvinaigrette, and serve with remainder.

LIGHT NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water by about 2 inches. Add a pinch of salt, cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high and simmer until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the snap peas and continue simmering, covered, until the peas are crisp-tender, about 3 more minutes. Drain the potatoes and peas and rinse under cold water; transfer to a large bowl.
• Make the dressing: Puree the tomatoes, olive oil, mayonnaise, vinegar and 1 tablespoon water in a blender.
• Divide the lettuce among 4 bowls and drizzle with some of the dressing. Add the tuna, bell pepper, olives and basil to the potatoes and peas; add the remaining dressing and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper, then pile on top of the lettuce.
• Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

NIçOISE SALAD WITH BASIL AND ANCHOVY-LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Make the vinaigrette: Using the flat side of a knife, smash garlic clove, anchovy fillets and salt into a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in lemon juice, zest and mustard. Using a whisk, slowly pour in olive oil while stirring constantly. Adjust seasoning as needed.
• Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover them with 2 or 3 inches of cold water. Salt the water and bring to a boil. When water comes to a boil, continue cooking potatoes until fork tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Add haricots verts during the last 1 minute of cooking (if using regular green beans, add them during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking depending on how thin they are). Drain vegetables and let sit until cool enough to handle but still quite warm. Halve potatoes, transfer to a small bowl along with the haricots verts and dress everything to coat with some (but not all) of the vinaigrette. When completely cool, toss in chopped basil.
• On a large platter or four individual plates, arrange potatoes and haricots verts, radishes or cucumbers, tomatoes and tuna, and hard-boiled eggs, if using. Scatter olives over the top and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Serve garnished with freshly ground black pepper, flaky sea salt and torn basil leaves.

SALADE NIçOISE

Steps:

• Quarter the lettuce through the root end. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Place each quarter on a large plate or in a shallow bowl. Drain the tuna and place in a bowl; flake into bite-size pieces with a fork and scatter over the lettuce. Next, scatter the potatoes, beans, pepper, artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Arrange an egg half to the side of each plate. Sprinkle the dish with the anchovies, olives and capers.
• Mix the vinegar, mustard and garlic in a bowl. Whisk in the oil until thickened. Season with the salt, pepper and herbs. Drizzle over salads. Serve.