Almost Salad Nicoise

I had it in my mind this morning that I wanted to make salad nicoise for lunch today. It must be this cold weather that we are experiencing and seems to be going on forever. I wanted to be transported to the south of France for a brief moment even though I've never been but can just imagine! Anything to get me through this winter.

I say this is an ALMOST salad nicoise because I didn't have the namesake of this dish, the nicoise olives.  I could have easily substituted kalamata olives I'm sure, but to be honest, I forgot. The salad was equally delicious without them. But please include them if you have!

Salad nicoise is essentially a composed salad made with green beans, potatoes, eggs and tuna tossed with a vinaigrette. You can either use canned tuna( I use Italian tuna in olive oil) or fresh grilled tuna which would be amazing!!

I left my  heart of romaine lettuce leaves whole because they looked so pretty, even if it was just me eating. Presentation is everything! Lol. But you can definitely tear them into bite size pieces. I used purple baby potatoes but any baby potato will do.

I think this makes a lovely lunch, especially with girlfriends and a bottle(or 2) of white wine.

Salad Nicoise

Vinaigrette
(this makes plenty of dressing, you will definitely have leftover)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, grated with a microplane or minced
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk all ingredients together and set aside until you are ready to assemble the salad.

5-6 baby new potatoes
a handful of green beans, ends trimmed
a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 hard boiled egg, peeled, halved or quartered
80g Italian tuna in olive oil
5-6 leaves of heart of romaine
1 tablespoon capers

Start by steaming or boiling your potatoes until tender. Set aside. Do the same with the green beans. You want the potatoes and the beans to be warm when you toss with the vinaigrette so they will absorb more flavour.
To assemble the salad, place the romaine leaves on a platter first and then arrange the potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, tuna, egg and capers attractively on top. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

bon appétit
m xo