Salade Niçoise
Inspired by Cuisine of the Sun by Mireille Johnston and Cuisine Niçoise by Jacques Medecin I mentioned a lot of variations and suggestions in the post, so you have some latitude. I didn't include a cucumber in my salad that I made for the photos in this post as no one had any at the market, but I included them in the recipe. Most of the ingredients are easy to get (unless you go shopping the one day no one has cucumbers at the market!) but the fava beans may prove a challenge. They are usually in season in the spring and purchased in the pod. The beans will need to be removed from the pods and the individual beans have a leathery skin that needs to be pulled off, unless they are quite young, in which case the skin is sometimes soft enough to eat. With all due respect to Ms. Johnston, Picardin France sells frozen fava beans that are pretty good. (Avoid the already peeled ones, which I find mushy.) In the U.S., while inauthentic, some use edamame beans. Otherwise you can use small, raw artichokes, sliced as thinly as possible, preferably on a mandoline, or skip the beans or artichokes, if unavailable.The classic Niçoise Salad includes peppers, but neither one of us are fans of raw peppers so I omitted them. If you use unpitted olives, especially tiny Niçoise olives, advise guests to watch out for pits. And at the risk of adding too many rules, if you go with oil-cured olives, the ones from Nyons, produced about an hour from Nice, are quite good : )
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 5-6 medium tomatoes sliced and gently salted
- 1 small head of lettuce preferably a soft lettuce, such as Bibb or Boston
- 12 radishes sliced
- 1 small cucumber peeled, seeded, and sliced
- 3/4 cup (110g) peeled fava beans or 8-10 very small artichokes, trimmed and very thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup (70g) black olives Niçoise or oil-cured, pitted or unpitted
- 4 hard-cooked eggs peeled and quartered (see note after recipe)
- 5-6 anchovy filets cut into thin strips lengthwise, or a 6 ounce (180g) tin of tuna
- 4 spring onions or 6 scallions trimmed to just use the white and light green parts, thinly sliced, or 1/2 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- freshly ground black pepper
For the vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
- 1/2 cup (125ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 10-12 leaves fresh basil
- 2 small cloves garlic peeled and minced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, sprinkle a little salt over the tomato slices and let stand 10 minutes.
- Wash and dry the salad. Place the leaves in a salad bowl or on a serving platter. (You can either place the ingredients in individual piles over the lettuce to make a "composed salad" or do as I do here, and just arrange everything over the lettuce.)
- Arrange the radishes, cucumber slices, fava beans (or artichokes), olives, quartered hard-cooked eggs, and tomatoes over the lettuce. (Drain away any liquid the tomatoes may have exuded.) Place the anchovy strips over the eggs. If using tuna, scatter big pieces or flakes over the salad.
- Make the vinaigrette by stirring the vinegar and salt together in a small bowl until the salt is dissolved. Stir in the olive oil, then the garlic and basil and add them. Taste and adjust for salt and to make sure the balance of vinegar and olive oil is right.
- Serve the salad. You can either dress the salad before serving (some people gently toss the ingredients together, before serving), or serve the salad undressed and let guests add their own dressing. If you dress the salad beforehand, add some freshly ground pepper when you do. If not, have a peppermill handy for guests to use.
Notes
- To make hard-cooked eggs: Start with room temperature large eggs. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and gently lower the eggs in with a spoon. Simmer at a very low boil for 9 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and plunk them into a bowl of ice water, cracking the shells a bit after a few minutes, which aids in peeling.