I know the name sounds fancy, but this Niçoise Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette is far from intricate. A little bit of prep work is all it takes to make this beautiful salad that will satisfy your whole family’s taste buds.
I am always on the lookout for new ways to get dinner on the table. Most often, the best ideas come from listening to my friends when they tell me what they love to serve. This idea came straight from one of my best friends and it sounded so heavenly that I knew I had to try it.
I’m not kidding when I say that this salad will satisfy everybody at the table. It’s one of those dishes where you can lay it all out on a platter and let your people pick what they want. It’s like a buffet of healthy goodies! You can make it for one person or a crowd, too.
Niçoise Salad is one of those culinary staples that has as many versions as there are chefs. Perhaps Julia Child is one chef that helped make it famous. If you have a bit of time, you can watch her making her version.
I’m not one for following a lot of rules when it comes to making food, but I do think this is a salad that should be laid out with the ingredients in nice little piles, not tossed together. After that, feel free to experiment. Tuna (canned in oil) and olives seem to be present in most versions, so I included them. Plus I used tomatoes, boiled new potatoes, boiled eggs, roasted green beans, cucumbers, and Spring mix. If you are in a hurry you can blanch the green beans, but I love the flavor they get when you roast them.
I whipped up a Lemon Vinaigrette, where all you have to do is put the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and then shake, shake, shake. The result is a tasty golden-hued dressing.
If you make the potatoes, green beans and eggs ahead of time, serving this salad becomes a snap. Ta-da. Dinner is served. And leftovers of this Niçoise Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette are even better.
Niçoise Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white balsamic dressing
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp dry mustard
- 1 TBSP minced shallots
- ½ cup olive oil
- 4-6 large eggs
- 4-5 medium sized red potatoes
- 3 5 oz. cans of oil packed Tuna drained
- 1 lb Green beans
- 2 cups Compari or similar sized tomatoes
- 1 English Cucumber
- 5 oz. Spring Mix
- 1 jar pitted Olives drained
- salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped
- Fresh dill weed chopped
Instructions
Prepare dressing:
- In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, mustard, shallots and olive oil. Tighten lid and shake well to mix.
Prepare salad:
- Boil eggs. Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with at least an inch of water. Bring water to a boil. Top pan with a lid and turn off heat. Let eggs sit for 15 minutes. Then, drain them and place them in a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes. Peel eggs and slice into quarters.
- Boil potatoes: Cut potatoes into quarters. Place potatoes in a medium sized sauce pan and cover with water. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil and cook until they just are fork tender. 10-15 minutes. Do not over cook. Drain and let potatoes cool.
- Roast green beans: Follow this recipe, Roasted green beans, omitting parmesan cheese
- Slice cucumbers and cut tomatoes into chunks.
- Drain the tuna and the olives.
Assemble salad:
- Place Spring mix on a large platter. Arrange eggs, potatoes, tuna, olives, green beans and cucumber over the lettuce.
- Sprinkle with salt, pepper, parsley and dill.
- Serve immediately with Lemon Vinaigrette on the side.
