Salade Nicoise

By LaLaCooks

From Julia's Kitchen Wisdom, by Julia Child.

Of all main-course salads, the Nicoise is my all-time favorite, with its fresh butter-lettuce foundation; its carefully cooked, beautifully green green beans; its colorful contrast of halved hard-boiled eggs, ripe red tomatoes, and black olives; all fortified by chunks of tunafish and freshly opened anchovies. It's a perfect luncheon dish, to my mind, winter, summer, spring, and fall an inspired combination that pleases everyone.

Ingredients

• 1 large head Boston-lettuce leaves, washed and dried
• 1 pound green beans, cooked and refreshed
• 1-1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup basic vinaigrette
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 or 4 ripe red tomatoes, cut into wedges (or 10 to 12 cherry tomatoes, halved)
• 3 or 4 "boiling" potatoes, peeled, sliced, and cooked
• Two 3-ounce cans chunk tuna, preferably oil-packed
• 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
• 1 freshly opened can of flat anchovy fillets
• 1/3 cup small black Nicoise-type olives
• 2 to 3 tablespoons capers
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from ochef.com

Preparation

Step 1

Arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter or in a shallow bowl. Shortly before serving, toss the beans with the shallots, spoonfuls of vinaigrette, and salt and pepper. Baste the tomatoes with a spoonful of vinaigrette. Place the potatoes in the center of the platter and arrange a mound of beans at either end, with tomatoes and small mounds of tuna at strategic intervals. Ring the platter with halves of hard-boiled eggs, sunny side up, and curl an anchovy on top of each. Spoon more vinaigrette over all; scatter on olives, capers, and parsley, and serve.