Tuna Salade Niçoise with Asparagus
Provençal Tuna Salad with Herbed Goat Cheese, Capers & Olives
This composed salad is named for the beautiful city of Nice on the Cote d'Azur, the French Riviera.
Come spring and a young man’s fancy turns to… asparagus. Eating fresh foods when they are in season is a core value in French cusines, arguably in any gourmet cuisine worthy of the name.
Salade Niçoise is most often served as a composed salad, salade composée in French. This is one of those terms showing up with more frequency on fine dining menus. Quite simply, it means a salad whose elements are artfully arranged rather than tossed.
The emergence of composed salads reflects the value chefs place on presentation, the visual appeal of what we serve and eat. The flavors would be the same if the salad were tossed. Similarly, the flavors would be the same if all the ingredients were put in a food processor and ground to a gruel! Flavor is important, but the experience of eating involves all the senses, visual and the contrast of textures.
Provençal Tuna Salade Niçoise with Asparagus and Herbed Chevre
- 4 cups Romaine leaves, whole or torn into bite-size pieces
- 8 oz. tuna steak, grilled, seared or poached, and then sliced
- 1/2 lb asparagus, woody ends snapped off and the spears steamed just until crisp-tender
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
- 3/4 lb small red potatoes, boiled and cut in quarters
- 1/2 lb grape or cherry tomatoes (or plum tomatoes, quartered)
- 1/4 lb herbed goat cheese, crumbled (optional)
- 1/2 red onion, sliced vertically (into crescents)
- 1 cup Nicoise olives (or kalamata or other intensely flavored olives)
- 1 Tbsp capers
- 1 cup Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette (recipe below)
All of the cooked ingredients should be at room temperature or cooler (but not ice cold).
- On each of four chilled plates, arrange the Romaine leaves. Top with the tuna and then feel free to exercise your creativity to arrange the asparagus and the rest of the ingredients in the order shown above.
- Add the dressing just before serving and, if you like, give the plate a sprinkling of paprika from two or three feet above the plate.
Variations:
This is one of those recipes that cries out for variations. Here are but a few:
- Add (or substitute for the asparagus),hericot verts or other green beans, cooked just crisp-tender. (This is more traditional in salade niçoise than asparagus.)
- Add marinated artichoke hearts.
- Add (or substitute for the tuna) anchovies or even cooked chicken or turkey.
- Five-Minute Variation: Use good quality canned tuna, asparagus, new potatoes, and store-bought vinaigrette dressing!
Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp good quality Dijon mustard (see Dijon Mustards Rated)
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
Combine all and process in a blender or food processor, or shake well in a jar.
Hungry for more?Find out what's happening in French Cuisine, Check out more recipes that demystify the basic techniques and ingredients of French Cuisine. Explore the cuisine of France's Regions beyond Paris
