Brasserie-style Niçoise salad with tuna in oil, egg and potatoes
The complete brasserie Niçoise: waxy potatoes dressed while warm, crisp green beans, large chunks of tuna in olive oil, eggs with soft yolks, anchovies, green pepper, radishes, black olives and a proper garlic vinaigrette.
Method
- Peel the potatoes and cut into 2.5 cm pieces. Put in a 3 litre saucepan with 1.5 litres cold water and the coarse salt, and bring to the boil over a high heat, about 8 minutes. Trim the green beans and halve them. Heat 1 litre water in the small saucepan and fill a bowl with very cold water, adding a few ice cubes if available.
- While the water heats, grate the garlic into a bowl, add the mustard, vinegar, 2 g salt and pepper and whisk, then whisk in the oil in a thin stream until the vinaigrette is opaque and coats the spoon. Wash the lettuce and basil leaves, check each leaf against the light, spin dry and refrigerate. Deseed the pepper and cut into very thin strips, thinly slice the radishes and finely slice the spring onions.
- As soon as the potato water boils, lower to a simmer and time 6 minutes. At the same time, lower the fridge-cold eggs with a spoon into the boiling water in the small saucepan and cook at a gentle boil for 9 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes into wedges and salt with 1 g salt in a colander. After the 6 minutes, turn up the potato pan’s heat, add the green beans, return to a brisk boil and time 6 minutes. When the eggs’ 9 minutes are up, plunge them into the bowl of cold water. After the beans have cooked for 4 minutes, test a potato piece: when a knife tip passes through without breaking it, between 4 and 6 minutes, lift out the potatoes with a slotted spoon, spread on a plate, pour over a third of the vinaigrette and stir gently. They will absorb it as they cool.
- After 6 minutes, the beans should bend but still have crunch. Lift them with a slotted spoon into the cold water alongside the eggs for 2 minutes to keep them bright green, then drain. Peel the eggs under a trickle of water and quarter them: the yolks should be set, orange and still soft in the centre.
- Arrange in two shallow bowls: lettuce on the bottom, then potatoes, beans, tomatoes drained of their juices, pepper and radishes. Drain the tuna and place in large chunks in the centre without flaking it, then add the egg quarters, crossed anchovy fillets, olives and spring onions. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette, tear the basil over, add a turn of pepper and serve without tossing, keeping each element distinct.
Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.
Fish-free
- Tuna in olive oil (160 g tin, 112 g drained) → Tinned chickpeas (400 g tin) 220 g (drained and rinsed weight, 110 g per fish-free plate (1 tin))
- add Eggs 110 g (1 extra egg per fish-free plate)
- without Anchovy fillets in oil (50 g jar or tin, 30 g drained)
- At the end of step 2, rinse and drain the chickpeas, then mix in a bowl with half the spring onions, a few torn basil leaves and 1 tbsp vinaigrette. Leave to marinate while everything cooks, so they absorb the seasoning rather than staying floury.
- In step 3, cook the extra eggs with the others in the same water.
- For one plate of each: 110 g marinated chickpeas and 2 eggs for the fish-free plate; 1 tin of tuna (112 g), 3 anchovy fillets and 1 egg for the fish plate. Divide everything else equally. The shared vinaigrette must never touch the fish: assemble the fish-free plate first, using a clean utensil for each protein.
The replacement quantities are for two fish-free plates. The same vinaigrette, cooking and presentation: only the protein changes.
Lighter version
Le thon au naturel est moins fondant et plus fibreux que le thon conservé dans l'huile. La vinaigrette entière lui apporte du moelleux, mais son goût de poisson ressort plus directement entre les légumes, l'œuf et les anchois.
- Tuna in olive oil (160 g tin, 112 g drained) : removed
- add Tuna in water (160 g tin, 112 g drained) 224 g (2 × 160 g tins, drained)
Tuna in water instead of oil saves about 90 kcal per person. Keep all the vinaigrette, otherwise the tuna in water makes the salad dry.
On your plate
Recipe
756 kcal · protein 54 g · carbs 42 g · fat 39 g
Quantities per person
- 112 g Tuna in olive oil (160 g tin, 112 g drained)
- 12 g Anchovy fillets in oil (50 g jar or tin, 30 g drained)
- 55 g Eggs
- 200 g Potatoes
- 80 g Green beans
- 90 g Tomatoes, vine or round
- 40 g Green peppers
- 20 g Radishes
- 10 g Spring onions
- 20 g Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli)
- 40 g Lettuce (Batavia, oak leaf or iceberg)
- 3 g Fresh basil
- 20 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 6.5 g Red wine vinegar
- 3 g Hot Dijon-style mustard
- 1.5 g Garlic
- 7.5 g Coarse salt
- 1.5 g Fine salt
- 0.25 g Ground black pepper
Fish-free version
718 kcal · protein 30 g · carbs 58 g · fat 39 g
Quantities per person
- 110 g Eggs
- 200 g Potatoes
- 80 g Green beans
- 90 g Tomatoes, vine or round
- 40 g Green peppers
- 20 g Radishes
- 10 g Spring onions
- 20 g Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli)
- 40 g Lettuce (Batavia, oak leaf or iceberg)
- 3 g Fresh basil
- 20 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 6.5 g Red wine vinegar
- 3 g Hot Dijon-style mustard
- 1.5 g Garlic
- 7.5 g Coarse salt
- 1.5 g Fine salt
- 0.25 g Ground black pepper
- 110 g Tinned chickpeas (400 g tin)
Cooking tips
This is the brasserie Niçoise with potatoes and green beans; the strict Nice version uses raw vegetables, with young broad beans and small purple artichokes. For the office, dress only the warm potatoes in step 3 and let everything cool. Pack potatoes and beans at the bottom of the container, followed by tuna or chickpeas, anchovies, pepper, radishes, olives and spring onions. Keep lettuce and basil in a separate bag, the peeled eggs and tomatoes whole, and the remaining vinaigrette in a small jar. Cut the tomatoes and eggs, assemble and dress when ready to eat. Transport chilled and eat within 24 hours.
Brasserie-style Niçoise salad, a complete meal with cooked potatoes and green beans; anchovies, green pepper, radishes and spring onions from the Niçoise tradition.
Comments and reviews
No comments published yet.
Share your experience
Your first name will appear with your comment. No additional email is required. Comments are reviewed before publication.