A Nicoise salad in the summer is so refreshing and takes advantage of fresh produce of the season. The salad part alone is delicious as a side, but adding some seared tuna makes it next level!
This dish is packed with flavor, has lots of nutrients from the veggies, herbs and proteins and is a really balanced meal in my opinion. It also eats great as leftovers for a few days, which I love!
I could go on and on about all the health benefits of this meal, but let’s get right to cooking.
What You’ll Need:
- tuna
- red potatoes
- eggs
- green beans
- Kalamata olives
- capers
- cherry tomatoes
- chives
- olive oil
- garlic
- Dijon mustard
- red wine vinegar
- lemon
- herbs – parsley, tarragon
- salt and pepper
Making the Recipe:
This recipe has more ingredients and steps than you might be used to, but don’t let that steer you away from making it. It’s not that hard and worth the effort in my opinion!
Start by mixing up the dressing and setting it aside.
Next cut the red potatoes in half or quarter them if they are larger. Put them in a pot and cover them with enough water for the potatoes and the eggs and a little salt. Bring the pot to boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes for 12 minutes (be sure to set your timer!).
Once the potatoes are simmering, add the eggs to the pot of potatoes. This is a clever trick to hard boil the eggs in one pot. If you want to do this step separately you can.
While the potatoes cook, cut the green beans into 2-inch pieces.
Once the potatoes and eggs have simmered about 7 minutes, place a steamer basket over the pan and add the green beans to it. Cook for the remaining 5 minutes.
Grab a larger bowl and fill it with some ice and cold water. As soon as the potatoes, eggs and beans finishing cooking, you’ll transfer the eggs and beans to an ice bath to stop them from cooking and cool them down.
Pour the potatoes into a colander and let them drain and cool a bit too.
Next, chop the fresh herbs and cut the olives and cherry tomatoes in half and set them aside.
Finally, rub the tuna with some olive oil and a little bit of the dressing. Season it with salt and pepper. Sear the tuna over a skillet that has been heated over high heat. Place the tuna in the skillet and cook it for about 2 minutes per side. You’ll notice the tuna cooking up the edge from the bottom. That’s a good time to flip it over and cook it on the other side. The 2 minutes is a good guide. If you’re tuna steak is really thin, it may take less time. If it is really thick, it may take slightly more. You should see a pink layer in the middle.
Pull the steak off the pan and let it rest, while you remove the shells from the eggs and slice them and assemble the salad base.
Put all of the ingredients but the tuna and sliced eggs in a big mixing bowl and add in most of the dressing. Stir everything together so that is is all well coated.
Place a bit of the salad base on each plate. Layer the eggs around one side of the plate. Cut the tuna into bit sized slices and place them on top of the salad. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and serve.
Bon Appetit!
Seared Tuna Nicoise Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Category: main dish
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A Nicoise salad in the summer is so refreshing and takes advantage of fresh produce of the season. The salad part alone is delicious as a side, but adding some seared tuna makes it next level!
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon, minced (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon)
- 2 pinches of Sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed, organic)
For the Salad Base:
- 1/2-pound small red potatoes, halved
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups French green beans, stems trimmed and cut in 2-inch pieces
- 1 lb. tuna, sushi grade
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed, organic)
- Sea salt, to season the tuna
- freshly ground black pepper, to season the tuna
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups olives, niçoise or kalamata olives
- 2 Tbsp. capers
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing and whisk well. Set it aside.
- Put the potatoes in a pot with a pinch of sea salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes.
- Add the eggs to the pot of potatoes in simmering water.
- Put a steamer basket on the pot of potatoes and eggs. Place the green beans in the basket and cover. Steam the beans for 5 minutes.
- Remove the beans and add the potatoes and eggs to the colander/steamer basket. Rinse with cold water for a minute or so. Set aside, while you cook the tuna.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Rub the tuna with olive oil and a bit of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper (be generous!). Place the tuna in the skillet and sear for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a cutting board.
- Once the eggs have cooled, crack the shells and peel them.
- Assemble the salad. Combine the potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, olives, capers and chives in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the dressing to mix well and drizzle enough of it over the vegetables to gently coat. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the mixture gently.
- Place the tossed salad on plates and lay the tuna (sliced) on top, with eggs around the sides. Drizzle the remaining dressing on top and serve.
Notes
- Omit the seared tuna, and serve this as a side dish.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4