This Sunday's recipe for "Grilled Tuna Salad Nicoise" was contributed by Slow Traveler Debrah. I like tuna in a can and love raw tuna in sushi, but I'm not that crazy about grilled tuna so I substituted some marinated beans and ended up with a vegetarian version.
I roasted fennel, an orange pepper, spring onions, and cherry tomatoes, and added those to steamed green beans, boiled new potatoes, the marinated beans, and an egg. Debrah gave us a choice of dressings and I made the traditional one and also put a few capers on top of the whole thing. It was very tasty and quite a beautiful salad, plus it was fun to make.
Wikipedia tells us that "Salade Niçoise comes in many different forms and its 'true' ingredients are often debated" so I don't feel too bad about tinkering with this except that I forgot to buy Nicoise olives and used Spanish instead, so maybe I should just call it composed salad. :) My version is in the photo and Debrah's original recipe is below.
Debrah wrote:
The recipe below is to serve 2 people but clearly, you can just double it or triple it at will. Anyone who has read recipes I have posted in the past may remember that I am rather loose in my interpretation of recipes but I hope that this fairly straightforward composed salad is easy to make.
Because I couldn’t decide which dressing is my favourite, I am giving two alternatives, one for a more traditional dressing and one for an Asian Dressing, which I think goes exceedingly well with the Tuna.
Grilled Tuna Salad Nicoise
2 Tuna Steaks
2 cups Green Beans or asparagus - whichever is freshest (cut in half for presentation purposes)
2 cups cooked Potatoes (sliced, diced or quartered depending upon size)
12 Olives (use your favorite, or a mixture - obviously, nicoise are the classic)
1 Orange or yellow pepper
2 Green Onions
1 cup Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
1 hard boiled egg (if following classic recipe)
*Optional: spring baby carrots or radishes - scrubbed served whole
Dressing: (should be made up prior to cooking veggies)
Classic: (put all ingredients into a jar, cover and shake)
1/4 Red wine vinegar
2 small or one large shallot (minced finely)
4 T. olive oil (or toasted walnut or hazelnut oil)
½ t. anchovy paste (optional)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 t. whole grain mustard
pinch of thyme
Asian (put all ingredients into a jar, cover and shake)
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
4 T Sesame Oil
Garlic - 2 cloves crushed
Ginger - about 1 tablespoon grated
4 T olive oil
Steam or parboil green beans or asparagus until just tender crisp. Put into ice water to stop cooking process.
Cook small potatoes (fingerlings are an idea) whole. Let cool, cut into shape you desire and pour a small amount of dressing on and chill. I roast or grill the peppers and tomatoes (with a small amount of either dressing tossed on). I like to cook the tomatoes until they release their juice and carmelize a bit. (If you are using really fresh flavourful tomatoes, you don’t need to bother!)
Put tuna steaks on the grill, brush with dressing and cook to your preference.
Plating: I like to present it is a composed salad - so each ingredient is given its own space on the plate, including the Tuna. Arrange the two plates, dividing up the vegetables, drizzle with dressing and serve.
*Clearly, you can use any vegetable you desire to finish up your plating. I think that tiny carrots whole and whole radishes add impact and more nutrients to the meal.
Comments (9)
Hi Annie, your salad looks really delicious. Debrah's recipe and your vegetarian version looks all very good.
I'm not a great cook but you all are inspiring me to try it one of these Sundays! I think it would be hard for a no talent like me to fail at making one of your wonderful salads.
Thank you for sharing and posting your wonderful photo! Enjoy your Sunday!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | May 24, 2009 11:55 AM
Posted on May 24, 2009 11:55
Kathy, LOL at "a no talent like me." You should join in one Sunday! I love to cook but I'm not a pro by any stretch. Doing it with the other Slow Travelers is fun because you have a clear recipe to start off with.
Next weekend's salad sounds really good - it's Kim's Chicken Fajita Salad. The recipe is on the ST message board if you want to check it out (looks pretty easy, no talent required!).
Thanks and hope you're having a great holiday weekend!
Posted by Annie | May 24, 2009 12:23 PM
Posted on May 24, 2009 12:23
Great salad, wasn't it? I enjoyed putting all the ingredients together and loved the classic dressing.
I smiled at Kathy’s comment about the "no talent like me". These salads are so good and easy to make that she should give them a try. C'mon Kathy, join us next Sunday! :)
Posted by María I. | May 24, 2009 7:02 PM
Posted on May 24, 2009 19:02
Hi Maria, it was a great salad. The olives on yours looked so good. And yes, I hope that Kathy will join in!
Posted by Annie | May 25, 2009 9:46 AM
Posted on May 25, 2009 09:46
Hi Annie & Maria, Fajita Chicken salad. Yum! I'll check Kim's recipe out and give it a whirl. You know, it might take me all week to gather the ingridients and prepare! :)
Hope you're having a great weekend Annie!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | May 25, 2009 9:50 AM
Posted on May 25, 2009 09:50
Kathy, you're too funny. :) Glad you're going to give it a whirl. Who knows, you may end up being the next Martha Stewart!
Hope you're having a great weekend too. I was so happy to wake up this morning and remember that I didn't have to go to work. :)
Posted by Annie | May 25, 2009 11:52 AM
Posted on May 25, 2009 11:52
I like the idea of a vegetarian version; wonder what the French would think of using grilled tofu?
Posted by Marcia | May 26, 2009 4:24 PM
Posted on May 26, 2009 16:24
LOL Marcia, I think we would have to drop the "nicoise" from the name all together if we threw some tofu on it. :)
Posted by Annie | May 27, 2009 8:45 AM
Posted on May 27, 2009 08:45
testing again
Posted by Kim | May 28, 2009 7:35 AM
Posted on May 28, 2009 07:35