One of the best parts of traveling is bringing home little tidbits of adventure. Recreating epic vacation meals is my favorite method of continuing on the trip, even if I am back home. Enjoying a great meal has the power to transport us back to when and where we first enjoyed it. Now niçoise salad will always take me back to the bustling streets of Paris with a large side of frites and a glass of red wine while watching immaculately dressed strangers walk past our outside table. When Nate and I went to Greece five years ago, we came back with a strong obsession for gyros and Greek salad. We still make it all the time and always think of our amazing honeymoon! On this most recent journey to France, we had niçoise salad nearly every day. I’ve had it before but never realized how much I loved it until we ate variations throughout France. Shortly after we got back I found myself jonesing for a giant niçoise salad next to a freshly baked baguette. (Or perhaps jonesing to go back to France? Who can tell.) I now declare that niçoise salads make the perfect Sunday evening dinner: they are light yet filling, healthy, easy, and can be changed slightly to fit what is in the refrigerator at that moment. We pulled together a combination that included our favorite traits from the many French niçoise salads we consumed as well as our own personal preferences (e.g., swapping butter lettuce for spinach). I hope you’ll try this at home and feel the French ambiance as well!
I thought switching out the canned tuna for seared ahi steaks would be a nice twist and also make the salad more appropriate for dinner. Well, it worked perfectly! The seared ahi tuna paired deliciously. However, canned tuna can easily be used to lessen prep time and for a more casual meal.
- 1 pound potatoes, boiled until fork-tender and sliced in wedges
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 12 ounces thin green beans, trimmed
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ½ shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- Freshly ground pepper
- Kosher sea salt
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 cups spinach + 2 cups mixed greens
- 6 radishes, trimmed and quartered
- ¾ cup nicoise olives
- 2½ pound ahi tuna steaks
- After the potatoes are cooked, drizzle with the wine and let cool.
- Meanwhile, 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, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to cool; drain and pat dry.
- Bring another saucepan filled with water to boil. Gently place the eggs in the saucepan and boil for 12 minutes. Drain, then run under cold water to cool. Set aside in a cold water bath.
- Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in ¾ cup of the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
- Begin to preheat an outside grill or skillet for the tuna.
- Toss the tomatoes in a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Add about ¼ cup dressing to the potatoes and toss. Peel and quarter the eggs.
- Divide the lettuce among the plates. Arrange the potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, radishes, and eggs on top. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the olives. Set aside.
- Next, prepare the tuna: brush the sides of the tuna with the remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Salt and paper to preference. When the grill is hot (I put our Traeger on high, which gets it to about 415 degrees), sear the tuna steaks on each side. In order to get ¼" thickness cooked, leave on for 3-5 minutes depending on temperature.
- Slice the tuna in ½" thick slices and arrange on the salad.
- Enjoy!
Adapted from this recipe.
