I’ve been making salade Nicoise for a long time. The vegetable medley from the south of France is one of my go-to dinners in the heat of summer. Very little time spent in the room where the hot stove lives.
I recently told friends that I planned to try it on their 8-year-olds. The moms objected: Kids don’t eat tuna. Kids don’t understand a plate of veggies. And kids certainly don’t like veggies. That last one, I understand. Growing up, I never met a vegetable I liked. (I didn’t like pastry either.)
Instead of backing off, I doubled my resolve to try it with kids. I decided to polish my performance, and so turned to my fat, dust-laden Larousse Gastronomique, the acknowledged bible of French cooking. The photo did not look familiar. Well, at least not like the one I’d been making.
According to The Book, the salad is … “typically southern, containing tomatoes, cucumber, locally grown fresh broad beans or small artichokes, green pepper, raw onions, hard-cooked eggs, anchovy filets or tuna, ripe olives, olive oil, garlic and basil.”
And one shocking sentence: “Neither potatoes nor cooked vegetables should be added to this salad.” Wow! And, no!
So I pulled out my copy of the equally thick Oxford Companion to Food, the British version of the French tome, or possibly their response to it. It meandered through an extensive history of salad — from the original Latin salata of classical Greece and Rome, to the French salade and the initial English salat, quoting French novelists and Roman poets. It ticked off tabbouleh, Caesar and Waldorf salads before veering into Asia.
According to the Brits, salade nicoise is “… a standard item, hundreds (sic) and even thousands of miles, from Nice.” The ingredients list skipped olives, artichokes and garlic. The English are not fond of these.
French cookbook authors added more garden ingredients. I guess those tiny green beans from the farmers’ market are OK. Still, I’ve always included a potato salad. Not, of course, the American picnic type with mayonnaise, but a more Mediterranean version with olive oil and capers.
I plate mine on the largest platter I can find, lining up each component side-by-side to show off the colors. I garnish with lemon wedges, then set it in the center of the table. It gives everyone the freedom to choose what they like.
For the kiddos this week, I plan to change up my delivery. Each child will get a small oval plate with a parade of veggies. I will encourage them to taste everything and eat what they like best.
So where did I learn this recipe? Not in culinary school or from a book. A friend who had spent years cooking in Paris drew it on a sketchpad. The photo here is the best recipe.
My Nicoise-Style Salad
The amounts depend on your crowd. Add a loaf of crusty bread and icy lemonade or a summery pink wine.
I’ve included substitutions to give the cook a free hand. Apply dressings — both vinaigrette and mayonnaise — with a light touch.
— Small yellow potatoes tossed with capers, chopped celery or fennel stalks, thinly sliced scallions in any combination
— Large or extra-large eggs
— Heirloom tomatoes, sprinkled with salt, pepper, chopped basil and parsley
— French-style green beans — or snap peas — or canned quartered artichoke hearts
— Pitted ripe olives — or tiny Nicoise olives — from the deli department, not a can(!)
— Canned Italian-style dark tuna or another oily fish
— Red onion, halved and sliced
— Lemon wedges, for garnish
— Lettuce, e.g. arugula or microgreens, for garnish
— Anchovy filets, optional garnish
— Homemade vinaigrette (olive oil; vinegar; mustard; salt; pepper).
— Best quality prepared mayonnaise thinned with fresh lemon juice, optional
Cut potatoes in halves. Bring to a boil in a water to cover, and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain in a colander. Drizzle with vinaigrette while still warm. Add some, not necessarily all, e.g. capers, etc.
Let eggs come to room temperature, about 20 minutes outside the fridge. Put them in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat. Cover the pot and let it sit for 10 minutes. Drain in a colander under cold water. Shell the eggs, cut into quarters.
— Simmer the green beans until just tender. Drain; toss with vinaigrette while still warm.
— Cut tomatoes into quarters. Salt lightly and sprinkle with basil and/or parsley.
— Drain olives and tuna, separately.
— Arrange each component, side-by-side, on a large serving platter.
— Drizzle vinaigrette, sparingly, over tomatoes, olives and tuna. If preferred, lightly drizzle the thinned mayonnaise over potatoes and eggs.
— Garnish with greens, lemon wedges and anchovies.
Linda Bassett lived in Marblehead for years and has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
