Whether it’s for outdoor picnics or simple daily meals, this Nicoise salad recipe provides a convenient, tasty make-ahead dish that you can munch on any occasion.
For many people, Nicoise salad strikes a classy, fancy vibe. Little did you know that it’s effortless to make, yet the result is beyond satisfying. Keep scrolling to figure it out!
What does “Nicoise” Mean in Cooking?
In French, “Niçoise” means “in the style of Nice.” This says it all. Nicoise salad is a vibrant dish that screams the style of French cuisine. It incorporates delicious fresh produce grown around the Nice area in the South of France. The components of a traditional Nicoise salad are black olives, tomatoes, anchovies, and a salty, tangy vinaigrette to serve along with it.
Nicoise Salad – A “Composed Salad”
For salad fans, the term “composed salad” is not strange at all. Not only is it tasty, it’s also aesthetically pleasing.
In a composed salad, all of the ingredients are assembled over a bed of green and carefully placed in sections instead of being tossed together in a bowl. Drizzle the dressing evenly over it, and you’ll have a delicious, colorful piecemeal dish where you can scoop a bit of everything.
What Is in Nicoise Salad?
Traveling to the US, a typical Nicoise salad recipe is built up from the traditional ingredients. People made attempts to improve it by adding to the salad other ingredients such as green beans, oil-packed tuna, and boiled eggs.
Delicious Flavors in a Nicoise Salad
Sweet, salty, savory— you’ll enjoy all of these flavors on a single plate of Nicoise salad.
This Nicoise salad includes many ingredients offering a variety of flavors, textures, and colors. The components are arranged in layers. Together, they create a taste sensation once you drizzle them with the pungent dressing.
For the toppings, you’ll get crunchy veggies like lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber, followed with the tender ones— potatoes and green beans. Together with the tuna, we don’t exaggerate when we say that you’ll get to taste a little bit of everything in the few first bites.
Nicoise Salad is Convenient for Meal-Prepping
The thing that we like the most about this Nicoise salad recipe is that all the ingredients can be made ahead.
That also means you can make a large batch of Nicoise salad and preserve it to serve later. The vinaigrette can be stored overnight; as for the vegetables and eggs, cooking them a day ahead and chilling them in the fridge is totally acceptable.
While this salad is time-saving and easy to make, the result is also worth the effort. Leftover Nicoise salad tastes as good as it does when freshly made, whether you serve it warm or cold.
Nicoise Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggs boiled, sliced in half lengthwise
- 4 oz green beans
- 4 oz baby potatoes sliced
- 4 oz unsalted light tuna
- 6 oz romaine lettuce
- 4 oz cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 2 oz olives
- 4 oz cucumber sliced
- 1 tsp traditional Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp honey
Follow Healthy Kitchen 101 on Pinterest
Instructions
- Soft-boil the eggs.
- Boil the green beans and baby potatoes until tender. Slice the baby potatoes in half lengthwise.
- Make the dressing (a.k.a. vinaigrette): Whisk together mustard, salt, ground black pepper, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and honey. Set aside.
- On a plate, assemble all the ingredients in sections, evenly dress them with the vinaigrette.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Info
Leave a Reply