The Melting Pot Chopped Nicoise Salad Recipes

CLASSIC NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl; drizzle with the wine and let cool. Reserve the saucepan.
• Meanwhile, bring a separate saucepan of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with salted ice water. Add the haricots verts to the boiling water; cook until crisp-tender and bright green, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to cool; drain and pat dry.
• Place the eggs in the reserved saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, then run under cold water to cool. Peel under cold running water.
• Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
• Toss the tomatoes ian a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/4 cup dressing to the potatoes and toss. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs.
• Divide the lettuce among 4 plates. Arrange the potatoes, haricots verts, radishes, hard-cooked eggs and tuna on top. Pour any juices from the tomatoes into the dressing, then add the tomatoes to the plates. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the olives.

SALAD NICOISE

Steps:

• Blanch the wax beans: Plunge the beans into salted boiling water and let cook, 2 minutes. Remove and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Dry off completely.
• Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, capers and pepperoncini in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Drain the tuna. Leave the tuna in big chunks; do not crumble. Place the lettuce on a platter. Arrange the tuna, onions, wax beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, roasted peppers and olives on top. Drizzle liberally with the dressing. Garnish with the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Serve.

THE MELTING POT CHOPPED NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Place the 1 quart water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Place the eggs in the pot and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand for 12 minutes. Remove and run under cool water. Peel the eggs and put in the refrigerator.
• Place the water from the saucepan into a large stock pot over high heat. Add the diced potatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce heat until the water is simmering. Cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the hot water (leave the water in the pot) and plunge them into ice water.
• Let cool, remove from the ice water, then place the potatoes in the refrigerator. Add the green beans to the water in the pot and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Remove and plunge into ice water. Remove and place the green beans in the refrigerator .
• Place the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, mustard, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Place in the freezer for about 5 minutes to chill. Remove the vinaigrette from the freezer and whisk. Add the tomatoes, olives, romaine and capers and toss well.
• Coarsely chop the eggs and add them to the bowl. Slice the green beans into 1 inch lengths and add them to the bowl along with the potatoes. Add the tuna and toss until the salad is blended. Serve.

CLASSIC TUNA NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Bring 2 medium pots of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes to 1 pot and blanch until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain in a colander, pat dry, and set aside. Add the green beans to the other pot and blanch until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, pat dry, and set aside.
• Arrange the tuna on a cutting board and cut into 4 equal portions. Season the tuna steaks with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, each. Heat the oil in a large skillet (or 2 medium skillets), over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the rosemary sprigs and tuna steaks and sear, about 30 seconds per side for medium-rare. Remove from the pan and dice the tuna into 1-inch pieces.
• Tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces and combine with chopped fresh parsley and tarragon. Toss with enough of the Anchovy Dressing just to coat. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as needed. Toss the potatoes and green beans in 1/4 cup of the Anchovy Dressing. Arrange the lettuce along the side of 4 large plates (or 1 serving platter). Spoon the vegetables along the other side of the plate. Arrange the diced tuna over the lettuce. Arrange the tomatoes, olives, sliced red onions, and eggs on the other sides of the plates (or serving platter). Garnish with additional herbs if desired and serve immediately.
• In a medium bowl, mash the anchovy, salt, pepper, and garlic into a paste with the back of a fork. Add the egg and whisk well to blend. Add the lemon juice and mustard, and whisk well. Add the oils in a steady stream, whisking constantly to form a thick emulsion. Add the shallots, capers and Worcestershire, whisk well, and adjust the seasoning, to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

CHOPPED NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Boil water in a large pot with a fitted steamer basket. Put the potatoes in the steamer, cover and steam for 15 minutes. Add the green beans and steam for 6 minutes more. Put the cooked potatoes and beans in a dish and set in the refrigerator to cool, or plunge into a bowl of ice water to cool quickly.
• Put tuna, olives, onion, tomato and lettuce in a large bowl. Dice the potatoes and green beans, add them to the bowl and toss.
• In a small bowl whisk together the oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss well and serve.

LIGHT NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water by about 2 inches. Add a pinch of salt, cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high and simmer until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the snap peas and continue simmering, covered, until the peas are crisp-tender, about 3 more minutes. Drain the potatoes and peas and rinse under cold water; transfer to a large bowl.
• Make the dressing: Puree the tomatoes, olive oil, mayonnaise, vinegar and 1 tablespoon water in a blender.
• Divide the lettuce among 4 bowls and drizzle with some of the dressing. Add the tuna, bell pepper, olives and basil to the potatoes and peas; add the remaining dressing and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper, then pile on top of the lettuce.
• Photograph by Antonis Achilleos

NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook green beans until bright green and tender, 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, shallot, and oil and season with salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, combine tuna with half the vinaigrette and stir gently to combine.
• Divide lettuce among 4 bowls. Top with tuna mixture, green beans, eggs, tomatoes, and olives; season with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve immediately.

SALADE NICOISE

Steps:

• Whisk together shallot, capers, Dijon, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in oil; set dressing aside.
• Fill a large bowl with ice and water; set aside. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add green beans, and cook until bright green, about 1 minute. Drain; plunge into ice water to stop cooking. Drain again, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, and set aside. Refill saucepan with cold water, and add potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer; cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes; let cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Place in a bowl; toss with 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette; set aside. Place eggs in a small saucepan of cold water. Bring to a boil; cover. Remove from heat. Set aside for 11 minutes. Rinse in cold water; peel; cut into wedges; set aside.
• To assemble, arrange lettuce on individual plates. Arrange green beans, potato salad, sliced eggs, celery, tomatoes, radishes, tuna, olives, and anchovies, if using. Drizzle with remaining dressing, and serve.