Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Summer Salad

My current FAVORITE salad is the Niçoise  Salad.
 
 
I have loved this salad for a long time, but recently rediscovered it when grabbing a quick dinner at the Nordstrom café with my daughters.
My super yum out salad from Nordstroms.
I ordered this salad with grilled chicken instead of the salmon.
I also like the salad with grilled tuna, which is what the recipe normally calls for.
 
There are many variations on the Niçoise Salad recipe and I wanted to find one that had the key ingredients that I love: Kalamata olives, capers, and a perfect Balsamic dressing.
Here is a recipe that I like:

Niçoise Salad

 
Vinaigrette Ingredients
 
1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsp minced fresh basin leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
 
Salad
      • 2 grilled or otherwise cooked tuna steaks* (8 oz each) or 2-3 cans of tuna
      • 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and either halved or quartered
      • 10 small new red potatoes (each about 2 inches in diameter, about 1 1/4 pounds total), each potato scrubbed and quartered
      • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
      • 2 medium heads Boston lettuce or butter lettuce, leaves washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
      • 3 small ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into eighths
      • 1 small red onion, sliced very thin
      • 8 ounces green beans, stem ends trimmed and each bean halved crosswise
      • 1/4 cup niçoise or Kalamata olives
      • 2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and/or several anchovies (optional)
*Marinate tuna steaks in a little olive oil for an hour. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat, or place on a hot grill. Cook the steaks 2 to 3 minutes on each side until cooked through.
 
Method
 

1 Whisk lemon juice, oil, shallot, thyme, basil, oregano, and mustard in medium bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
 
2 Bring potatoes and 4 quarts cold water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and cook until potatoes are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon (do not discard boiling water). Toss warm potatoes with 1/4 cup vinaigrette; set aside.
 
3 While potatoes are cooking, toss lettuce with 1/4 cup vinaigrette in large bowl until coated. Arrange bed of lettuce on a serving platter. Cut tuna into 1/2-inch thick slices, coat with vinaigrette. Mound tuna in center of lettuce. Toss tomatoes, red onion, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste in bowl; arrange tomato-onion mixture on the lettuce bed. Arrange reserved potatoes in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.
 
4 Return water to boil; add 1 tablespoon salt and green beans. Cook until tender but crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain beans, transfer to reserved ice water, and let stand until just cool, about 30 seconds; dry beans well. Toss beans, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste; arrange in a mound at edge of lettuce bed.
 
5 Arrange hard boiled eggs, olives, and anchovies (if using) in mounds on the lettuce bed. Drizzle eggs with remaining 2 tablespoons dressing, sprinkle entire salad with capers, and serve immediately.
recipe source
 
Nicoise Salad (photo)
 
When I make this myself, I don't use a platter, I make individual salads using soup plates.
I also use grilled chicken or have used the canned albacore tuna.
I am all about saving time so I have also used the bagged Romaine lettuce or the organic field greens that come in a box from Costco...if you have a store bought balsamic vinaigrette that you love, you can use that to save time also.
 
Bon Appetit!
 
 
 photo signature_zps0cbbee76.png

2 comments :

Preppy Empty Nester said...

That's one of my favorite salads as well. We love Nordstroms for lunch. Great food and service.

Simply LKJ said...

Yum! We love the salads at Nordstroms. I have not tried this one. I think I would prefer it with grilled chicken as well.

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