Salad Nicoise

In the real world of Nicoise salad, you want to toss all your warm ingredients in some of the vinaigrette, but here we're making a fussy eaters' version so it's all separate. For those who don't like anchovies, just make a simple dressing of olive oil and lemon juice.

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• crusty bread, to serve

Salad

• 2–4 kiplfer potatoes, peeled
• 2 handfuls baby green beans, trimmed
• 2 eggs
• 200 g tuna steak (or 200 g canned tuna in olive oil)
• 1 mignonette lettuce
• 125 g cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 grated carrot, cut into julienne or shredded
• 1 yellow capsicum, cut into strips
• 16 black niçoise olives
• ¼ cup chopped chives

Vinaigrette

• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 8 anchovy fillets, halved lengthwise
• sea salt
• 250 ml (1 cup) olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) lemon juice
• flaked sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Place the peeled potatoes in a saucepan of lightly salted cold water, bring to the boil, then simmer until tender. Drain, cut in half or into chunks and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, fill a bowl with cold water and ice (this will be used to refresh both the beans and the eggs). Add the beans to a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and place in the iced water to stop the cooking. Drain again.
3. Place the eggs in a small saucepan of cold water, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and place in the bowl of iced water until cooled. Peel and cut into quarters. The yolk should still be soft.
4. For the vinaigrette, place the crushed garlic, chopped anchovies and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and use a fork to mash into a paste. Transfer to a jar, add the remaining ingredients and shake vigorously.
5. Heat a heavy – based frying pan over high heat. Season the tuna on both sides, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and when hot, sear the tuna on all sides for 1 minute. Remove from the pan and stand for 10 minutes, then slice.
6. To assemble the salad, line a large serving plate with the lettuce leaves. Lay out rows of each ingredient. Serve with the vinaigrette and crusty bread.

 

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.