Nicoise Salad

I promised you salad to go with

It's Nicoise salad - totes French, and totes delish.  Capers, potatoes, tuna, veggies.....we adored it.  I made this a few weeks ago for Father's day.  We celebrated at lunch with my amazing father, and I had recently discovered a new French bakery that is RUN BY A FRENCH PERSON.  Huge.  Everything at that joint is delicious, so I mainly just wanted a reason to eat French bread.

Hence, a French salad. 

For the salad itself, you need lettuce, potatoes, and green beans.  You could also add anything you want - grated carrot, chopped tomatoes, scallions...anything!

For prep, I'm going to show you each of the components separately so it's not confusing.  All of these things could of course be done at the same time, and ALL of it can be done in advance - then you just assemble the salad when you're ready to eat! 

You will of course want to make a big batch of red wine vinaigrette and have it on hand. 

Then, for the potatoes, I bake them, cool them, chop them, and dress them.  Funny story about these potatoes:  I baked 3 for 6 people, then while I was at church one of them got gone.  I came home and thought my dad or sister had ... eaten a whole potato?  That didn't seem right.  Then, I asked my dad and he informed me that when HE had gotten into the kitchen two foil-wrapped potatoes were precariously close to the edge of the counter, and one piece of foil sans potato was on the floor.  With the dogs.  APPARENTLY one of them figured out that they could jump to the counter (they're as tall as I am all stretched out), and nudged the potatoes to the edge.  For rizzle.  So, long story - 2 large potatoes ended up being plenty for 6 people, but 3 would have added more to the salad.  Protect your starch, people. 

ANYWAY.  Wash the potatoes and prick them with a fork, then wrap them in foil.  Bake them for 45 - 60 minutes at 400F until they're fully cooked, then stick them still wrapped in the fridge.  I did this two days in advance, but the day of would be fine.  If you're in a hurry, stick them in the freezer to help them cool faster.  

When you're close to being ready to eat, cut the potatoes into large chunks - 1 inch or so.  

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of dressing over the potatoes, and stir them every once in awhile while you prep the rest of the salad - the potatoes absorb some of the dressing, and get REALLY good. 

For the green beans, bring 2 inches or so of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon of salt.   Cut the green beans into 1 - 2- inch lengths, and boil them for one minute, then drain them and cool them.  For the potatoes AND beans, it's totes fine if they're room temperature, warm, or cool from the fridge.  Your choice!

Now, the tuna!  The star of this show.  You need canned tuna, pepper, dill, olive oil, and lemon juice.  

Chop the dill.

Then, squeeze just a bit of lemon into the drained tuna. 

Add the dill, olive oil, and a sprinkle of pepper. 

Then, stir.  

Lemon-dill tuna salad!  Well done.  You could of course use this, um, ANY OTHER TIME you don't want a creamy tuna salad.  Duh.  

Other accompaniments include pickled things of your choice.  My family likes pickles so...I went with three options.  Unless you really hate them, capers are a must, to me.  

Now, we're down to assembly.  I make a big bed of lettuce...

...then just arrange everything really pretty around the tuna, which looks awesome in the center. 

I sprinkled everything with capers, then let folks drizzle dressing on their own once we served.  

Extra capers and pickles are a must, and YOU'VE GOT NICOISE.  

This is DELICIOUS, and a fun twist on a cafe-style meal, which we love.  Anything that involves wine and bread is OK with us!

Enjoy this, friends!  This is such a great time of year for yummy salads. 

Recipe