This is a very telling salad. In the intro to the recipe, author Becky Selengut writes that Salade Nicoise is a dish where cooks show their personality types: “Anal types will place each ingredient in efficient, color-coordinated piles, most likely not touching each other. Laissez-faire types will have everything piled randomly on the platter. I leave this up to you and your therapist.”
Did you see my photo above? Maybe you need a second shot without the hacked egg:
Clearly I fall into the latter category, but I would argue that my presentation would change depending on circumstances. For example, were I to serve this to guests at a sit-down lunch or brunch I’d put a little more effort into making it look a little less disheveled. I would still use the same sustainable seafood, however, purchased from either Loki Fish or the other sustainable seafood stall at the Queen Anne Farmers Market in Seattle. Or I’d buy the Raincoast Trading Seafood that costs a first child a can at health food stores nationwide.
I think the main reason I made this recipe was because I happened to have some pickled beans and olives in my fridge (this never happens for some reason) and I wanted to use this can of tuna. I also happened to have potatoes (50/50 chance I’ll have those on a given day), and lettuce (90% chance). I threw in some parsley because it was there, and I skipped the tomatoes, citing Selengut’s explanation that it’s a “composed” salad, meaning a mix of stuff, and thus could be slightly changed without incurring the wrath of the French gods Charles de Gaulle, Napolean and Jesus.
The thing about salad is that it should be thrown together in a pinch. so the idea of salad requiring forethought is frustrating. You need to get the water going with the potatoes a good 20 minutes before you want to eat, and that’s only if you don’t mind burning your fingers peeling them still hot.*
And if you don’t happen to have pickled green beans or feel like making them (which requires a day of forethought, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of white wine vinegar, 1 bay leaf, a tbsp of sugar, a tbsp of salt, 1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds and 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns – boil and pour over green beans in heatproof container then let cool and stick in fridge for a day or two to infuse), just blanch your green beans in plain old salted water.
Now, about eggs. I care almost nothing about eggs, I’ll be honest, but I’ve been reading and eating a lot of them, testing sous vide and standard recipes both for “perfect” soft-boiled eggs and hard-boiled eggs, and I’m going to tell you a secret. It doesn’t matter a wink if your yolks are a little harder or softer as long as you’re happy with them. My trick for soft boiled eggs is to put a whole egg into boiling water and turn off the heat. Then I set the timer for 3 minutes. I don’t like hard-boiled eggs, so I split the difference in this recipe and left them in that water for 6, until the almost solid consistency in the photo above was reached. Then crack and peel the egg (since you’ll probably want a hard-boiled or almost hard-boiled one for this nicoise salad) and slice on top of your salad. Quartering neatly is for chumps and people with guests, which are not one and the same. Oh, and you’re supposed to serve it with crusty bread. I did not. I lived. So will you.
Salade Nicoise
Adapted from “Good Fish” by Becky Selengut
3/4 lb fingerling potatoes, or large Yukon gold potato (or whatever you have to serve about 4 people who don’t LOVE but who certainly like potatoes), skin on
1 can sustainable tuna (see above), drained, and 1 tbsp of oil reserved if packed in oil
1 tsp Dijon
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (only if your tuna isn’t packed in oil)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon (or about 3 tbsp lemon juice)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 small head of lettuce (any kind but romaine. Boston or butter, but no “Arugula” or spinach please on the first go)
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves, optional
Up to 1/3 cup olives (they’re supposed to be “nicoise” olives but there are only a few kinds of olives that I like, so I say go wild when choosing and use whatever you’d like)
1/4 lb green beans, pickled or not (see above)
4 eggs
Put potatoes in medium pot of salted water (about a tbsp of salt) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender (from 10 minutes for small potatoes to about 16 for a whole giant one). Drain, rinse in cold water and let cool. Don’t peel it yet.
If you don’t have pickled beans handy, cook fresh green beans for 3 minutes in boiling water. Drain and rinse in cold water until room temperature. Bring small pot of water to a boil (or remove beans with a slotted spoon to reuse bean water). Add eggs in shells, turn off heat, and leave pot on hot burner for 6 minutes while you make the dressing. Don’t worry. A little extra time will be fine as long as you like hard-boiled eggs, which I assume you do since you’re making this recipe.
In a small bowl or container with a tight lid, combine the drained tuna with the Dijon and either 1 tbsp of the reserved oil from the tuna or 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil. Add salt, pepper, 1 tsp lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. Stir well (or shake, if in container) to combine.
Wash and dry lettuce and parsley. Peel potato and chop into small chunks. Slice olives into small pieces, as you see fit. Drain eggs, run under cold water to cool, and peel. Slice into quarters or in half as I did for a better shot of the golden yolk. If your yolk isn’t golden, buy fresher eggs next time. According to your personality type (see opening paragraph) arrange lettuce, parsley, chopped potatoes, seasoned tuna, olives and beans on plates or in a large salad bowl. Generally the eggs should go on top, but that’s my anal personality trait kicking in. Drizzle salad with remaining 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp lemon juice. Put olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper on the table so individuals can adjust vinaigrette to their preferences.
Feel very French.
*Note: you can peel them before boiling but they lose more of their nutrients this way. And, come on, if you’re going to eat a salad, eat a healthy salad. If not, drink a Caesar.
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