Salade Niçoise
The composed salad of Nice: ripe tomatoes, boiled eggs, olive-oil tuna, anchovies and black olives with potatoes and green beans, dressed with a sharp vinaigrette.
Method
Scrub the potatoes, cutting any large ones into 3 cm pieces, and put them in a 18 cm pot of cold water with half the salt. Bring to the boil over high heat, then lower to medium heat and cook for , until a knife tip slides in easily.
Add in this stepSmall waxy new potatoes 200 gSalt to taste
high heat→medium heatWhile they cook, bring another pot of water to the boil, lower in the eggs gently with a ladle and cook over medium-high heat for , then put them straight into cold (ideally iced) water. Nine minutes gives yolks that are fully set but still moist. Peel when cool and quarter them.
Add in this stepEggs 2
medium-high heatTop the green beans and add them to the potato pot when the potatoes have left. Drain everything, rinse under cold water to cool, and halve the potatoes. The beans should be bright green with a slight crunch.
Add in this stepGreen beans 120 g
Make the vinaigrette: in a small bowl, mix the vinegar, mustard, grated garlic, a little salt and pepper, then whisk in the olive oil gradually until thick and emulsified.
Add in this stepRed wine vinegar 1 tbspDijon mustard ½ tspGarlic (cloves) 1Salt to tasteBlack pepper to tasteExtra-virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
Cut the tomatoes into wedges and salt them lightly; slice the cucumber thinly, the pepper into fine strips and the red onion very thinly. If the onion is harsh, soak it in cold water for 5 minutes and drain.
Add in this stepRipe medium tomatoes 2Cucumber ½Bell pepper (green or red) ½Red onion ¼Salt to taste
Line a large platter with the lettuce. Toss the potatoes and beans with a third of the vinaigrette and lay them on top, then arrange the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion and eggs in groups. Break the tuna into big flakes in the centre, criss-cross the anchovies over, scatter the olives and torn basil and spoon over the rest of the dressing. Serve straight away.
Add in this stepRomaine or little gem lettuce 60 gCanned tuna in olive oil, drained 120 gAnchovy fillets 4Black olives (Niçoise if possible) 12Basil leaves 6
Cook's tip
In Nice the original uses only raw vegetables and eggs, but French homes often add potatoes and green beans to make it a meal. Dressing the potatoes while still warm helps them soak up flavour. Tomatoes taste best ripe and kept at room temperature, not in the fridge.
Cooking it at camp
Boil the potatoes, beans and eggs at home, cool them and pack them in the cooler with the vinaigrette in a small jar; at camp you only slice and arrange. Canned tuna and anchovies need no fridge. On hot days keep the eggs and opened tuna well chilled.