lunch

Niçoise Salad

Name: Niçoise Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 large eggs; 8 ounces green beans, trimmed; 1 pound small waxy potatoes (fingerlings or baby Yukon Gold); Two 5-ounce cans oil-packed tuna, drained; 1/2 cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives; 4 anchovy fillets (optional); 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 head butter lettuce; 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Niçoise is a composed salad, not a tossed one. Each component has its own preparation and is arranged separately on the plate rather than combined in a bowl. Soft-boiled eggs, cooked to six or seven minutes for a jammy yolk, are halved and placed deliberately. Oil-packed tuna goes in substantial flakes. Haricots verts are blanched and shocked cold. Olives, anchovies, radishes, and tomatoes each occupy their own zone. The vinaigrette, a simple emulsion of olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon, and shallot, is applied to each component individually before plating, not drizzled over the assembled dish. The egg's role is textural: its soft yolk contrasts against the firm tuna and the crisp beans, and the richness of the yolk ties together the briny and acidic elements on the plate. The dish comes from Nice and uses the ingredients of that region. There is a correct version, and it does not contain boiled potatoes or lettuce.

Prep: 20 min Cook: 15 min Total: 35 min Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 large eggs
8 ounces green beans, trimmed
1 pound small waxy potatoes (fingerlings or baby Yukon Gold)
Two 5-ounce cans oil-packed tuna, drained
1/2 cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives
4 anchovy fillets (optional)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 head butter lettuce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and halve when cool enough to handle. In the same water, blanch the green beans for 3 minutes, then shock in ice water.
Boil the eggs for 7 minutes (start in boiling water for jammy yolks). Transfer to ice water, then peel and halve.
Make the vinaigrette: Whisk together red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard. Stream in olive oil while whisking. Season with salt and pepper.
Arrange butter lettuce on a large platter. Compose the salad: cluster the potatoes, green beans, tuna, tomatoes, olives, and anchovies in separate groups across the plate.
Nestle the egg halves among the other components. Drizzle the vinaigrette over everything. Serve immediately — this is not a salad that benefits from sitting.

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