How to Make the Perfect Salad Nicoise
How to Make the Perfect Niçoise Salad ~ this healthy main course tuna salad is one of the best ever invented... it's colorful, protein packed, and so satisfying ~ the French just have a flair for putting together simple but powerful flavors.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 small head of crisp lettuce your choice, rinsed, dried, and chopped
- 3 Tbsp fresh tarragon leaves
- 3 Tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 1 cup white beans either navy or cannellini, drained and rinsed
- 1 Persian cucumber thinly sliced
- handful baby carrots raw
- 1 cup baby purple potatoes cooked and halved
- 1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes halved
- about 6 baby radishes
- handful green beans preferably French, lightly steamed
- 2-3 hard cooked eggs halved
- 1/3 cup Bird Beak peppers
- 1/3 cup black olives your choice, I used oil cured
- 1-2 cans Genova Albacore Tuna in olive oil
- 2 Tbsp capers
dressing
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 1 Tbsp mustard
- 1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more lemon juice if you like.
- Put the lettuce in a wide shallow salad bowl or platter and arrange the tarragon leaves over the lettuce.
- Toss the beans with a little of the dressing, and some of the fresh dill. Pile the beans into a heap on the edge of the salad, leaving the center free for the tuna.
- Arrange the cucumber slices and carrots in little piles next to the beans.
- Toss the potatoes with a little of the dressing and dill, and add them to the salad. Arrange the tomatoes, radishes, green beans, eggs, peppers, and olives in a similar manner all around the edge of the platter.
- Put the tuna in the center of the salad and top with the capers. Scatter the fresh dill over all.
- Drizzle with the dressing just before serving. Add salt and pepper to taste.