Nicoise Salad Recipes

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl; drizzle with the wine and let cool. Reserve the saucepan.
• Meanwhile, bring a separate saucepan of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with salted ice water. Add the haricots verts to the boiling water; cook until crisp-tender and bright green, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to cool; drain and pat dry.
• Place the eggs in the reserved saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, then run under cold water to cool. Peel under cold running water.
• Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
• Toss the tomatoes ian a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/4 cup dressing to the potatoes and toss. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs.
• Divide the lettuce among 4 plates. Arrange the potatoes, haricots verts, radishes, hard-cooked eggs and tuna on top. Pour any juices from the tomatoes into the dressing, then add the tomatoes to the plates. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the olives.

Steps:

• Make the Niçoise dressing: Combine the garlic, capers, vinegar, and olive oil in a 1-quart jar with a lid. Shake the dressing very well. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until serving time.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Make the salad: Place the bell pepper under the broiler, about 4 inches from the heating element, for 2 to 3 minutes, checking often so it doesn't burn. When one side is nicely blackened, use tongs to turn the bell pepper until it is evenly blackened on all sides. Remove the bell pepper from the broiler. Alternatively, place the bell pepper directly in the flame of the burner on a gas stove and turn it as each side gets blackened. While it is still hot, place it in a paper bag and let it sweat for 10 minutes. Then work the burned skin off with your fingers. I don't like to rinse the bell pepper under water because it removes the flavorful oil. You'll inevitably be left with a little skin on the pepper, which is fine, but remove as much as possible. Split the bell pepper lengthwise and remove the core and seeds. Slice the flesh into 1/4-inch-wide julienne strips and set aside.
• Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the beans for 3 to 4 minutes, or until they are just slightly tender but still nice and green. Drain. Plunge the beans into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and drain again. Set aside.
• Cook the eggs in a 6-quart saucepan of simmering water for 11 minutes. (If you like a slightly wet center, cook for 10 minutes; for a completely cooked egg, try 12 minutes.) Run cold water over the eggs in the saucepan. Remove the eggs from the water and peel them under running water. Cut in half lengthwise and set aside.
• Remove and discard the tough outer leaves and the tough bottom part of the romaine. Split the head lengthwise into sixths with a sharp knife. Wash the romaine wedges, shake out the excess water, and pat the wedges dry with paper towels. Trim the center core, leaving just enough to hold the wedges together. Wrap the wedges in paper towels and refrigerate.
• Trim away the fronds and hollow stalks of the fennel bulb, and cut away the bottom. Cut the bulb in half and remove the center core. Cut the bulb either crosswise or lengthwise into very fine slices. Place the fennel in a bowl with the lemon juice and 2 cups of water. This will keep the fennel from browning. Alternatively, cut the fennel bulb into sixths, removing the center core, and coat with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast or grill the pieces for 5 to 10 minutes, or until tender. (You can serve the fennel in this salad hot, at room temperature, or chilled.)
• Arrange the romaine wedges cut side up in the center of a platter. Arrange the green beans, eggs, fennel, artichokes, olives, tomato, and tuna in separate groups around the edges. Arrange the roasted bell peppers around the whole salad.
• Just before serving, drizzle the Niçoise dressing over the salad. Alternatively, pour the dressing into a cruet or pitcher and let guests dress their own salads.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, parsley, olives, onion, tuna and green beans. Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
• In large bowl, toss greens with vinaigrette and top with chilled potato mixture. Garnish with eggs, tomatoes, capers and anchovies.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, onion powder and pepper; set aside., Place potatoes in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain and cool; cut into quarters., Place beans in another saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook until crisp-tender, 3-5 minutes; drain and rinse in cold water., Divide lettuce between 2 salad plates; top with potatoes, beans, tomatoes, olives, eggs and tuna. Drizzle with dressing.