Rice Salad Nicoise Recipes

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.

SALADE NIçOISE

Steps:

• Quarter the lettuce through the root end. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Place each quarter on a large plate or in a shallow bowl. Drain the tuna and place in a bowl; flake into bite-size pieces with a fork and scatter over the lettuce. Next, scatter the potatoes, beans, pepper, artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Arrange an egg half to the side of each plate. Sprinkle the dish with the anchovies, olives and capers.
• Mix the vinegar, mustard and garlic in a bowl. Whisk in the oil until thickened. Season with the salt, pepper and herbs. Drizzle over salads. Serve.

NIçOISE SALAD

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.

SALADE NICOISE

Steps:

• Heat a well-seasoned grill pan over high heat.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, shallot, anchovy paste, and capers. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Set aside. Place eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with several inches of cold water. Place the pan, uncovered, over high heat, stirring occasionally, until just before the water comes to a boil. Cover, turn off the heat, and cook for 12 minutes. Immediately transfer the eggs with a slotted spoon to ice bath. Let cool completely, about 5 minutes. Pat dry, one egg at a time; peel and halve. Set aside.
• Prepare an ice bath. Fill a medium saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Cook haricots verts until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately transfer beans, with slotted spoon, to ice bath. Drain well and pat dry. Drizzle with rice wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Prepare an ice bath. Place potatoes in medium-sized pot. Cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until fork-tender, about 8 minutes. Immediately transfer potatoes with slotted spoon to ice bath. Drain well and pat dry. Cut in half lengthwise. Drizzle with vermouth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Toss lettuces with some of the anchovy-caper dressing and place on large serving platter. Toss potatoes, haricots verts, and cherry tomatoes separately with dressing and arrange over lettuce.
• Arrange tuna over salad and drizzle with dressing. Garnish salad with eggs and Nicoise olives.