A traditional French dish from Nice in the south of France (hence its name Nicoise — pronounced ‘nee-swah’). It usually has beans in it, but seeing it’s winter I’ve replaced them with some more seasonal vegetables.
Nicoise salad
| 800 g | Waxy potatoes, use baby potatoes (Main) |
| 4 | Eggs, free-range |
| 1 | Baby cos lettuce, use witloof or radicchio |
| 1 | Fennel bulb |
| 3 | Baby radishes |
| 1 punnet | Cherry tomatoes |
| 185 g | Canned tuna, drained, I prefer mine in oil |
| ¼ cup | Kalamata olives, or 2 Tbsp chopped capers |
Dressing
| 2 Tbsp | Red wine vinegar |
| 2 Tbsp | Extra virgin olive oil |
| 3 Tbsp | Mayonnaise |
| ½ cup | Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped |
| 1 clove | Garlic, small, finely minced or grated |
| 1 | Lemon, cut into wedges to serve |
Directions
- Halve any larger potatoes so they are all roughly the same size. Place potatoes in a pot with 1 teaspoon salt and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.
- Place eggs in a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a gentle boil and time for 6 minutes. Drain eggs and run under cold water to cool down. Once they have cooled, peel off their shells and roughly chop.
- Separate baby cos lettuce leaves and roughly chop. Finely slice fennel and radishes. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Mix all dressing ingredients together and set aside.
- Drain potatoes and toss with chopped egg, vegetables, flakes of tuna, olives/capers and dressing. Season to taste with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
- To serve, divide nicoise salad between plates and serve with a lemon wedge on the side to squeeze over just before eating.