Nifty Niçoise Recipes

ANY WAY NIçOISE

Steps:

• Whisk oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey, pepper, and 1 tsp. kosher salt in a medium bowl; set dressing aside.
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully add eggs and cook 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water (keep pot over high heat); chill until cold, about 5 minutes. Peel; set aside.
• Meanwhile, add green beans, asparagus, or potatoes to the same pot of boiling water and cook until just tender (if you are using a combination, cook vegetables separately), 2-4 minutes for green beans or asparagus, 10-15 minutes for potatoes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to bowl of ice water; let sit until cold, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels; pat dry.
• To serve, slice eggs in half and arrange on a platter with cooked and raw vegetables and protein. Top with pickled-briny ingredient(s), sprinkle with sea salt, and drizzle some reserved dressing over. Serve with remaining dressing alongside.
• Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 5 days ahead; cover and chill. Eggs can be boiled and vegetables blanched 2 days ahead; cover and chill separately.

CLASSIC NICOISE SALAD

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.

NIçOISE SALAD WITH BASIL AND ANCHOVY-LEMON VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Make the vinaigrette: Using the flat side of a knife, smash garlic clove, anchovy fillets and salt into a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in lemon juice, zest and mustard. Using a whisk, slowly pour in olive oil while stirring constantly. Adjust seasoning as needed.
• Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover them with 2 or 3 inches of cold water. Salt the water and bring to a boil. When water comes to a boil, continue cooking potatoes until fork tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Add haricots verts during the last 1 minute of cooking (if using regular green beans, add them during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking depending on how thin they are). Drain vegetables and let sit until cool enough to handle but still quite warm. Halve potatoes, transfer to a small bowl along with the haricots verts and dress everything to coat with some (but not all) of the vinaigrette. When completely cool, toss in chopped basil.
• On a large platter or four individual plates, arrange potatoes and haricots verts, radishes or cucumbers, tomatoes and tuna, and hard-boiled eggs, if using. Scatter olives over the top and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Serve garnished with freshly ground black pepper, flaky sea salt and torn basil leaves.