Salade Niçoise
Salade Niçoise
French-style salad with seared sushi-grade tuna—perfect at room temp for summer dinners, best enjoyed with chilled rosé. Featured in French at Heart by Marjorie Taylor and Kenda l Smith Franchini
Servings
6
Prep time
Cook time
Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 285g assorted tomatoes, halved or quartered through the stem end
- 2 tbsp salt-packed capers, rinsed & drained
- ½ cup Niçoise olives, for garnish
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Large handful fresh basil leaves, for garnish
- Juice ½ lemon
- 12 high-quality oil-packed anchovy fi llets
- Fleur de sel (salt) & freshly ground black pepper
- 565g small red potatoes, rinsed
- 225g tiny green beans, ends trimmed
- 4 × 225g sushi-grade ahi or albacore tuna steaks, each approx. 2.5cm thick
- Fleur de sel & freshly ground black pepper
- 6 large soft-cooked eggs, halved lengthwise
Method
- Make the dressing: In a small saucepan, combine the garlic, capers, olive oil, lemon juice and anchovies and season with salt and pepper. Heat over low heat until just bubbling, then remove from the heat and let infuse for at least 10 mins, or until ready to assemble the salad.
- To assemble: Fill a medium saucepan with water. Add the potatoes, season with salt and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender yet still hold their shape, 10-20 mins, depending on their size. Drain and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for blanching the beans. Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice water and set nearby
- Cook the green beans until tender and bright green and still crisp, 3-4 mins. Once tender, drain them and shock them in the ice water bath to immediately stop the cooking and preserve their colour. Let sit for 1-2 mins, then place on a platter lined with a clean kitchen towel and set aside.
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper and drizzle generously with olive oil to coat the 2 sides. Add to the pan and sear until the steaks are golden on each side and rare on the inside, 1-2 mins per side. Remove from the pan and set aside. (If you’re using a smaller pan, sear the steaks 2 at a time to avoid crowding.)
- Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise (or keep whole if small) and drizzle with olive oil. Slice the tuna steaks at an angle to the cutting board crosswise.
- On a large platter, arrange the green beans, potatoes, tuna, eggs and tomatoes in groupings or toss everything together for a more traditional version. Season the salad with salt and pepper, then drizzle the dressing over the salad and garnish with the olives and basil.
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