Salade Niçoise (Provençal Tuna Salad)

This modern adaptation of the classical southern French salad replaces the more traditional canned Tuna with fresh … although the original Salade Niçoise didn’t contain any seafood, only vegetables. Kipfler or pink fir potatoes are ideal for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 500g baby kipfler potatoes, skin on
• 250g green beans, topped and tailed (see Note)
• 600g Tuna steaks
• Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 punnet heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
• ⅓ cup Ligurian olives, pitted
• 1 baby cos lettuce, leaves separated
• 3 softboiled boiled eggs, peeled and halved
• 12 Anchovy fillets, halved lengthways (see Note)
• Microherbs, to garnish

Method

Steam potatoes for 10 minutes, until nearly tender. Add beans and continue steaming for a further 2 minutes.

Remove beans and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Drain and slice in half lengthways and again crossways. (If using baby beans, leave them whole.) Allow potatoes to cool and slice into 8-10mm rounds.

Meanwhile, season Tuna well with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add a little of the oil and cook Tuna, for 2-3 minutes, depending on thickness, then turn over and continue cooking, for another 1-2 minutes until just seared. (Both sides of the tuna will be cooked and golden but the middle should still be ruby pink.)

In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and remaining oil together and set aside.

Place potatoes, beans, tomatoes and olives into a bowl. Add dressing and toss gently to combine.

Cut Tuna into large cubes. Line a large platter or individual plates with torn lettuce leaves. Spoon salad onto the leaves and garnish with Tuna, eggs and anchovies.

Notes

Use baby green beans if available. Larger runner beans are also suitable, but you will need to cut them into smaller pieces as per the instructions.

Use Ortiz brand Anchovy fillets if available as they have a much better flavour than other brands, and are less salty.

Alternative Species: Albacore, Bonito.