Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Salade Nicoise

My cat is a fancy cat.  He has one paw that he holds just so, as if sipping tea or posing for a very important portrait.  He's been known to wear a bow tie.  He doesn't like to get his paws dirty, and he very much enjoys his bed piled high with blankets.


This is a fancy salad.  It's the kind of salad you might serve if you had someone to impress, or if you just felt like turning your kitchen into a French cafe.  This salad paints in bold colors.  It is somehow light and fully satisfying at the same time.  I don't often crave a salad for dinner.  But when I do, it's this one.


A true Nicoise is nothing more than potatoes, green beans, and anchovies.  However, the modern version is piled high with tuna, dotted with boiled eggs, and tossed with any number of vegetables.  Every restaurant in France might serve a different salade Nicoise, but this is the one I serve.


It's fancy enough for cats of even the most discerning tastes.


Salade Nicoise
Serves 2

1 lb green beans, trimmed
2 lbs new potatoes
2 sweet peppers, thinly sliced
2 cans tuna
salt and pepper
olive oil
basil vinaigrette
4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered

Boil the green beans in salted water for five minutes.  Drain and cool.

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes, or until fork tender.  Drain, cool, and halve.

Season tuna with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss.

Season green beans with salt and pepper, and dress with basil vinaigrette.  Toss green beans with peppers.  Pile onto two plates.  Pile tuna in the middle of each salad, and surround the plate with eggs and potatoes.  Drizzle everything with basil vinaigrette, and season with salt and pepper.

Basil Vinaigrette

2 shallots, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 T red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
small handful basil leaves
1 1/2 c olive oil

Put shallots and garlic in a bowl with the vinegar.  Add salt and pepper.  Crush basil leaves and add to bowl.  Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

Whisk olive oil into vinegar mixture.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  The vinaigrette is enough for a salade Nicoise and lots left over for your next salad.

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