Tuna Salad Nicoise

I wish I had a fabulous story to tell you about this salad, like, "I savored my first Tuna Salad Nicoise at a cafe in Nice, accompanied by a crisp Sancerre, overlooking the Mediterranean in the late afternoon sun..." Sadly, I've never been. Someone should take me there.

Now, I know it's 30 degrees outside and you would really prefer some warm soup, but this salad, with Ahi Tuna, potatoes and eggs is a wonderful, hearty mix of flavors and textures. Exquisite in the summer with peak-season farmer's market produce, but still really great in the winter. (And besides, I made soup yesterday.) 

Tuna Salad Nicoise is something that I've been making for years, and it's sort of the French take on a Cobb Salad, for instance, where every person and recipe book makes theirs slightly different. My version below.

Ingredients:

Salad
2 small Ahi Tuna Steaks
5 cups of chopped romaine lettuce (usually Butter Lettuce is used, but I used what was on hand)
1 medium ripe tomato, cut into 8 wedges
1/4 lb. green beans, french cut (on the bias)
2-3 small new potatoes
2 eggs
10 Kalamata Olives (traditionally Nicoise Olives are used, but I had what I had)
Anchovies (optional, but they are super tasty with this salad)
Olive Oil

Dressing
Juice of 1 lemon (yielded 2 Tbsp)
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 Tbsp parsley, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 heaping Tsp honey
1 pinch of Herbs de Provence
salt and pepper to taste

First wash and pat your tuna steaks dry, marinate in about a Tbsp of olive oil, salt and pepper. For just about everything, I use this great mix of course salt, pepper and herbs that I bought from Callahan's General Store. If you haven't ever been there, it's on 183 South, on the way out of town to Lockhart (for barbeque, of course). It's a pretty awesome place where you can get a french press, fertilizer, hunting supplies and a backyard chicken all in one place.

Start a large pot of water on the stove to boil while you chop your lettuce, tomato and green beans for the salad and parsley and garlic for the dressing. Once you have the water rolling at a boil, delicately drop in the eggs and potatoes, cook for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs (leave in the potatoes) and drop in the green beans. After 4 minutes, remove the green beans and the potatoes. Shock the green beans in ice water to stop cooking. Peel the eggs. Cut the eggs and potatoes into halves.

Now make the dressing. In a jar or bowl, combine the lemon juice, honey, garlic, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, Herbs de Provence and olive oil. I tend to save all my old jars to reuse for dressings and relishes and stuff (I know, it's the Filipino in me). If you don't have a jar to shake up the dressing, you can certainly whisk it all together, just make sure to continuously whisk while streaming the olive oil so it emulsifies. 

To sear the tuna steaks, put a heavy-bottomed pan on the stove at medium high heat with  about 1 Tbsp of olive oil. When pan is hot, sear the steaks on each side for 4 minutes, or until desired degree of doneness. Slice into strips. 

Now put it all together. I like to pile the tomato, eggs, potatoes, olives in little mounds for aesthetic appeal. Place the tuna on top, drizzle with dressing, and pepper and salt to taste. 

Listening to: Grizzly Bear, Two Weeks