French Recipe – Salade niÇoise

With the warm weather on its way, you may start to see the classic salade niçoise appearing on the menu of restaurants around France. This traditional salad originated from the city of Nice and has been called ‘the finest summer salad of all’ by renowned chef, Gordon Ramsey. The exact ingredients for the niçoise are up for debate, with traditionalists stating that it should exclude cooked vegetables. For them, only raw vegetables, including red peppers, shallots, artichoke hearts and green beans, may be used. However, cooked green beans and potatoes are commonly served in variations of the salade niçoise that are popular around the world.

The healthy recipe below is quick and easy to make so why not have a go yourself at home? And of course, feel free to add or remove any ingredients you may or may not like!  

Number of servings: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Salad:

  • 12 small new potatoes, halved
  • 400g baby green beans, trimmed
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 baby gem lettuce hearts
  • 425g can of tuna, drained
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, quartered
  • 200g black olives, pitted
  • A handful of black olives

Dressing:

  • 3 anchovy fillets in oil, drained, minced (optional)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Juice of a whole lemon
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method

  • Step 1: Make dressing by combining all the ingredients in a jar and shake well. Season with salt and pepper.

  • Step 2: Cook the potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and transfer to a large salad bowl. Add the green beans to saucepan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes and then drain them. Before adding them to the salad bowl, it is important to stop the cooking process by rinsing the green beans under cold water so the beans maintain a crunch!
  • Step 3: Add the tuna, tomatoes, olives, lettuce, egg and to the salad bowl. Add the dressing and toss gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Voilà, your very own salade niçoise.

Enjoy!

Discover more delicious French recipes HERE.

nicoise salad close