- Nicoise salad is a classic French salad,
but many people don't realize that it originates
from the city of Nice in the south of France.
And since I just spent three weeks
in the sun-drenched French Riviera
eating an abundance of Nicoise salads,
I'd like to think I'm somewhat of an expert
on this dish now.
the Mediterranean climate along the French Riviera
produces an abundance of fresh vegetables for this salad.
So if you're a fan of Mediterranean recipes,
then this is a must-make summer salad recipe
to keep in your rotation.
And the best part is that it is incredibly easy to make.
So, let me show you how to make it.
Let's start with the dressing first,
and it's the lemon vinegarette recipe from my website.
This is one of the most versatile vinaigrettes,
and the one that I make most often.
And it starts with 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil.
To that, you'll add 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice,
one teaspoon of Dijon mustard, half a teaspoon of honey,
one minced garlic clove, and salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk that altogether until it's emulsified,
and then set it aside.
Now, we'll do a little multitasking on the stove today
to cook the eggs, potatoes,
and green beans at the same time,
which are all done pretty quickly.
For the eggs, bring a small pot of water to a boil,
then reduce the heat to low so there are no bubbles.
This is key.
And then gently place the eggs in the pot.
Once the eggs are in, you can then turn the heat up
and bring it back to a gentle boil.
Cook the eggs as soft or hard as you'd like,
and I've got a separate video on how to boil eggs perfectly
that shows the different textures at various time intervals.
So if you haven't yet watched that video, give it a watch.
But for today, I'm going for soft boiled eggs.
Many of you know (chuckles) that I love a good
six-and-a-half minute jammy egg,
but today I'll cook them for about seven minutes or so
just so they're not quite as runny.
And while the eggs are cooking
I'll prepare an ice water bath.
On another burner I'll bring a pot of water to a boil,
then salt that up and add two cups
of baby red and white potatoes.
You don't have to use both colors,
you can pick just one if you'd like.
But I had a mixed bag today.
After you add the potatoes, simmer them for about 15 minutes
or until they're fork-tender.
Then use a slotted spoon or skimmer to remove the potatoes
to a cutting board to let them cool.
And the key here is to leave the water in the pot
so that you can blanch the green beans
in the same water that's already boiling,
which speeds things up.
But before we get to that,
I'll remove the eggs to the ice water bath
and let them hang out there until I'm ready to peel them.
Immediately submerging the eggs in ice-cold water
stops the cooking process,
and ensures that they'll remain perfectly soft.
Alright, back to the other pot,
I'll add six ounces of French-style green beans,
which are also known as haricot vert.
These just need to blanch for a quick one to two minutes,
depending on how soft you like them.
Then you can plop these into an ice water bath as well.
And if you haven't yet noticed,
I love (chuckles) my large skimmer
and use it all of the time in the kitchen.
So if you're in need of a a new skimmer,
I've linked it for you below.
After the potatoes have cooled,
go ahead and slice them in half.
Or if you have ones that are a bit larger
you can always cut them into quarters.
Interestingly enough, potatoes are one of those ingredients
that are debatable on Nicoise salads.
Purists might say that Nicoise salads
should only include raw ingredients.
But over the years, even French versions
have come to include some cooked veggies like potatoes,
beans, and fish.
And I just like that potatoes add a bit more
heft to the salad to fill you up.
Next, slice in half one cup of grape tomatoes.
You could also use garden fresh tomatoes
and cut them into chunks.
But no matter which you use,
the key is choosing tomatoes that are juicy and ripe,
because this salad (chuckles) is all about
those farmers' market fresh vibes.
Slice up one English cucumber,
and I like to cut it on a bit of a diagonal
as it just makes it a bit prettier
when it's fanned out on the platter.
Though you can slice it up-straight.
After years of photographing recipes for the website,
I tend to approach things
with a bit of a food stylist mentality now,
which I've now realized is completely on autopilot.
And the last veggie you'll need to slice
is half of a red onion.
So, just slice it thinly and then set it aside.
Alright, let's see how we did on the eggs.
Take those out of the ice water bath, tap them a few times,
and then remove their shells.
If you start peeling the eggs from the bottom
you can more easily get under the membrane,
which makes them easier to peel.
You can also peel them under running water,
which I usually do,
but I didn't (chuckles) wanna move all of the camera gear
over to the sink today.
So, I'm just peeling them here.
But if you notice, the eggs are still easy to peel
with no sticky membrane or divots in the whites.
And it's all thanks to my process for boiling eggs.
Trust me, my friends,
after decades of boiling eggs this way,
I swear by this method.
And the eggs are perfectly cooked
with a touch of softness on the inside.
The final few ingredients needed for this salad
are jarred and canned items, and that includes olives.
For more color variety
I'm using both Castelvetrano olives and Kalamata olives.
But, feel free to use your favorite.
And then for the fishy protein element,
I'm using canned albacore tuna.
Though you'll see at the end
many of the Nicoise salads I enjoyed in France
included anchovies, so you can use those as well,
or even canned salmon.
To assemble the salad I'm using a large platter,
as my recipe serves four people.
And the base layer of the salad
is about four cups of salad greens.
I'm using a spring mix,
though you can use baby spinach, arugula,
or whichever greens you prefer.
Layering leafy greens onto the platter
not only helps all of the ingredients stay put,
but it'll soak up all of the
lemon vinaigrette dressing as well
once we drizzle it on top.
From there, you can place all of the veggies
and proteins on top of the salad greens,
including the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, potatoes,
green beans, red onion, tuna, and eggs.
I'm keeping all of the ingredients separate
and serving it up cob salad style.
But if you'd like to mix the ingredients together
in a bowl before serving, you can certainly do that as well.
(gentle bright music)
For the dressing, you can add as much
or as little as you'd like.
I usually add about half of it,
and then save the rest to use in the future.
No garnish is needed for this salad
as it's so darn pretty all on its own.
Though I do like to sprinkle a rough grind
of salt and pepper before serving.
This Nicoise salad recipe is one of the most popular
summertime salad recipes along the French Riviera.
So if you haven't yet enjoyed it before,
it's definitely time to whip it up at home.
And I have to say that this salad,
along with my Greek salad recipe,
are probably the two salads I make most often
in my own kitchen during the summer.
I just can't get enough of those (chuckles)
simple, yet flavorful ingredients,
and the fact that both of them are so easy to meal prep.
If you're serving this up for a dinner party,
you can easily double the ingredients
on an extra-large platter,
and then let people serve themselves.
But today, since it's just me all by myself in the kitchen,
I'll quickly serve up a plate for myself,
and then I'll share some videos
of the Nicoise salad recipes I enjoyed in France.
I am excited to dig into this recipe.
There's just something about remaking a recipe at home
once you've traveled to the country,
and then as soon as you start eating it
it brings back all of those fond memories.
I just love how light and fresh
and simple this recipe is to make.
And you can adapt it to so many different ingredients
that you have on hand.
As I mentioned in the intro,
I had this salad numerous times
when I was in the French Riviera, the Cote d'Azur,
because on a hot, sunny day,
it's just cooling and refreshing.
And there are several variations that I had to it.
The one I had in Monaco had radishes
that were cut into beautiful flowers.
It had bell pepper, and it also had anchovies,
which is very common along the Mediterranean.
That was delicious.
And then another one I had was in Villefranche-sur-Mer,
a gorgeous beach town that I need to win the lottery
and buy a villa in.
And that one had radishes as well,
along with grilled bell pepper and quail eggs,
which is why (chuckles) they are so small,
along with anchovies and artichoke.
All of the Nicoise salads I had along the French Riviera
were all just a little bit different, which I loved
'cause it gave 'em all a little bit of a unique flare.
But the general premise of the salad was the same.
So, I hope you guys love this new salad recipe.
And if you do, make sure to give the video a thumbs-up
as that really helps to support my channel.
And I will see you again in the next video.
(gentle bright music)