This recipe is a tasty version of the traditional salad nicoise arrived at through years of just making it up. The combination of tuna and eggs is one I really love and as I am not keen on anchovies they don’t feature here. I do try using runner beans instead of fine or French bean as I prefer the texture and taste but of course if they are not in season I revert to the regular bean instaed. I have included a dressing for this recipe, however I don’t usually bother with a dressing either as I am usually being weight aware! This is a salad I normally put together with a few leftovers for lunch.

Link to measurement conversion chart

Enough for 1 for lunch, double up if you have someone to share it with

Ingredients

• 1 hard boiled egg, shelled and quartered
• 3 – 4 new potatoes cooked and cut into chunks
• 1 dozen cooked runner beans or fine green beans if runners are out of season, cooked and cut to 3cm lengths
• ½ tin of tuna
• 5 – 10 pitted black olives optional
• Salad leaves
• 1 tomato cut into 8 pieces
• Dressing – optional
  
  • 1 tablespoon of white wine or balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 tsp French mustard

You will also need;

• to mix the dressing a screw top jar - an old jam jar works well

Method

1. Using a lidded jar mix together all the dressing ingredients and give it a good shake
2. Arrange the salad leaves in a circle on a plate
3. Decoratively arrange the remaining salad ingredients on top of the lettuce
4. Drizzle the dressing over all
5. Eat and enjoy!

Serving suggestions and variations

• Add any other salad ingredients you fancy to the plate, I really like sprouting lentils, try cucumber, onions and celery, then of course there are the anchovies!
• Use sundried tomatoes instead of fresh
• Experiment with different dressings
• For larger quantities, do not make this up as a tossed salad, the egg and tuna will make an unsightly mess. Make up a large platter and serve the dressing on the side.
• Try using cooked prawns instead of tuna
• Use leftover cold potatoes instead of cooking up new ones
• For a small portion I steam the potatoes, beans and egg in one pan together
• I have tried fresh and canned tuna and prefer the canned, which is probably not very PC but is easy to have in the store cupboard and this is a store cupboard salad for me.
• Use potato salad and miss out the dressing

Acknowledgements

There are loads of versions of salad nicoise, everyone appears to have their own. The key ingredients across the board are tuna, hard boiled eggs and green beans, so sorry I am unable to acknowledge anyone but myself for this one.  I did however use a dressing from the Hamlyn All colour cookbook that I know is a tasty combination.

If you enjoyed this recipe you might also like to try one of the following;

1.  If you are looking for fun ways to use runner beans have a go at runner bean spaghetti with bolognaise sauce, or any other pasta sauce for that matter
2. Corned beef lasagne is a great alternative to the standard lasagne and has become a family favourite in our house
3. If you have time for baking try Pasteis De Nata, or Portugese custard tars, they make a great tea time snack or dessert and are very easy to make.

I hope you enjoy this version of the classic as much as I do. 

Happy eating!