Classic Nicoise Salad with Tangy Vinaigrette
This Nicoise salad feels a little fancy, but it’s super easy to pull off. Layer crisp-tender green beans, briny chunks of tuna, creamy potatoes, jammy eggs, and a colorful lineup of fresh herbs and crunchy vegetables, and tie it together with a punchy, tangy vinaigrette. You can prep most of it ahead, so when it’s time to eat, you’re basically just assembling a masterpiece on a platter!
Ingredients
Vinaigrette Dressing
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
- 1 small garlic clove grated or finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Nicoise Salad
- ½ pound baby yellow or red new potatoes
- ½ pound green beans trimmed
- 3 cups butterhead lettuce leaves (about 1 head)
- ½ cup cannellini beans or chickpeas
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 6.7-ounce jar oil-packed tuna drained
- 2 hardboiled eggs *see note for cooking times; peeled and sliced into halves or quarters
- ¼ cup green or black olives drained and pitted
- ½ cup mixed fresh herbs such as tarragon, chives, basil and/or parsley
Instructions
Make the vinaigrette dressing
- Put the shallot, garlic, wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl or jar. Let the mixture sit 5 minutes — this step dissolves the salt and helps soften the shallots, which infuses flavor into the vinegar.
- Add the Dijon and black pepper to taste. Stir until emulsified, or fasten a lid onto the jar and shake to blend. Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking, until the dressing looks thick and creamy, or shake the jar again until blended. *The dressing can be prepared and stored refrigerated up to 3 days.
Cook the green beans and potatoes
- Bring a large sauce pan of water to a boil and salt generously (about 1 tablespoon salt per quart of water) — this will season the potatoes while they cook so they taste delicious! Add the potatoes to the pan and cook until they can easily be pierced with the tip of a knife, about 12 minutes. Scoop the beans out with a slotted spoon. Set aside until cool, then slice in half.
- Add the green beans and cook 3 minutes, until they're bright green. Drain in a colander and immediately run them under cold water. Shake to drain any excess water.
Assemble the salad
- Arrange the lettuce on a large serving platter. Drizzle about a teaspoon of dressing over the leaves.
- Add the potatoes in a cluster on the edge of the platter on top of the lettuce and drizzle lightly with dressing.
- Pile the green beans down the center of the platte. Drizzle lightly with dressing.
- Add clusters of the cannellini beans and tomatoes around the platter, drizzling each with dressing.
- Crumble the tuna over the green beans. Tuck the boiled eggs here and there around the platter. Tear the olives in half if they're large and sprinkle randomly over the platter. Scatter the herbs over the platter.
- Serve the salad with additional dressing on the side.
Video
Notes
- To make boiled eggs: Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Lower the eggs into the pan with a slotted spoon. Cook 7 minutes for a soft-boiled egg with a creamy yolk, 8 minutes for a medium yolk, or 9 minutes for hard boiled. Cool the eggs under cold running water. The eggs can be cooked up 1-3 days ahead.
- The best salad potatoes are low-starch types. Try to find very small yellow or red potatoes (about 1-inch in diameter). You can also use larger Yukon potatoes, sliced into 1-inch chunks.
- The potatoes and green beans can be cooked up 1-3 days ahead. Store them refrigerated in airtight containers.
- Tip: Lightly dressing each salad component as it's layered onto the platter is the key — you want to avoid drenching it in the vinaigrette.
- Seafood: Instead of using canned tuna, make the salad into a seafood dinner using grilled salmon or fresh tuna fillets.
Nutrition
Calories: 304kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 11gFat: 18gSodium: 280mgFiber: 8gSugar: 8g
