Nicoise salad - a classic recipe with tuna. How to cook french nicoise salad, photo. Sauce, nicoise dressing

How to cook a classic Nicoise salad? There is no specific traditional recipe, but there are many different variations to suit all tastes. Below we offer you some interesting recipes.

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Light, tasty, divine salad with the aroma of Provencal meadows and the taste of summer. All these qualities belong in French to an exquisite and impossibly simple salad with the tender name Niçoise. What is the secret of the centuries-old popularity of vegetable salad on all five continents? And how to prepare this salad so that it does not lose its authenticity? We will tell you about this in secret in this article.

The name Nicoise salad comes from the word niçoise, which is interpreted as "from the city of Nice." This is a French, and to be more precise, Provencal dish, the base of which consists of dried anchovies, olive oil, olives and tomatoes. Legumes, capers, eggs, lettuce are often used as additional components.

There is an indescribable number of different variations of this salad. Therefore, culinary historians and experienced gourmets are still debating which recipe the true Niçoise should correspond to: the one voiced by the restaurateur Auguste Escoffier, or the one proposed in the 20th century by the mayor of Nice, Jacques Medsan.

There are two more unlikely theories about the origin of this masterpiece salad. One version says that the Nicoise recipe became popular thanks to Catherine de Medici, who borrowed it from the Italians. And the other says that English sailors invented the salad 5 centuries ago.

But it is clear that the modern version of Niçoise could not have existed before the 17th century. Since tomatoes and legumes came to Europe thanks to Columbus only in the middle of the 16th century. But the first prototype of this salad with world popularity was eaten by the ancient Ligurian tribes, however, in a more modest version.

Sauce for Nicoise - an important accent in the salad

No matter how many Nicoise recipes there are, and no matter how many chefs prove their case when choosing the ingredients for this salad, everyone agrees on one thing: Nicoise should be seasoned with a special sauce.

For dressing, the base is first prepared from a mixture of fragrant oil, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard. And then you can safely experiment with herbs. Since the salad is considered Provencal, then the herbs should be appropriate - basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme. Sometimes lemon juice is found in a salad recipe, and wine vinegar is used instead of balsamic. But the base of the dressing must retain its authenticity.

Traditional Nicoise Sauce - Recipe

To prepare a simple classic dressing, you will need the following ingredients:

Olive oil (unrefined) - 60 mg.
Dijon mustard - 6 tbsp. l.
Balsamic vinegar - 2 tsp.
Lemon - 2/3 pcs.
Ground black pepper - a pinch.
Fresh basil - 2 sprigs.
Salt - 3 g.

Step-by-step preparation of dressing for Nicoise salad with a photo:

Pour the olive oil into a glass or ceramic bowl.
Pour pepper into oil and squeeze lemon juice.
Add balsamic vinegar and stir in sauce.
Now stir in the Dijon mustard and chopped basil.
Stir the sauce until a homogeneous structure is obtained and send it to the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

This sauce can be used not only for dressing Nicoise salad. It is suitable for grilled meat, fish and vegetables. With this dressing, many dishes open up their taste in a new way.

Nicoise salad - a classic recipe

The traditional Nicoise recipe involves the use of fresh vegetables without heat treatment. Thanks to this, the salad is light, bright and juicy. And the addition of dressing with fresh Provence herbs opens up a riot of flavors, colors and aromas of this excellent appetizer. A fresh and vitamin-rich salad is especially tasty in summer, it perfectly replaces the main course or serves as an addition to meat or seafood.

The base for the salad is anchovies or more expensive tuna, ripe tomatoes (yellow ones can be used), pink olives and garlic should also be present. Over time, boiled eggs, bell peppers and green beans were added to the recipe, but this is already a matter of taste. And the final ingredient of Nicoise is a dressing of fresh basil, olive oil, garlic and mustard. There are many disputes and misunderstandings regarding the quantitative composition of the dressing, so you can cook it at your discretion.

Unfortunately, there is simply no universal recipe for Nicoise. It is as varied as the imagination and skill of its performer. But still there is a traditional option from which you can build on in the process of your culinary creation. So, Provencal Niçoise is a classic recipe.

To prepare a vegetable mix with grilled tuna, you will need the following products:

Marinated tuna - 200 g.
Olives - 120 g.
Quail eggs - 4 pcs.
Cherry tomatoes - 160 g.
Salad mix (arugula, lettuce, romano) - 220 g.
Capers - 15 g.
Asparagus beans - 120 g.
Young onion - 40 g.
Potato - 160 g.

For sauce:

Olive oil - 30 mg.
Salt and pepper - 4 g each.
Basil - ¼ bunch.

For marinade:

Soy sauce - 35 g.
Salt, pepper - a pinch.
Garlic - 1 clove.

The process of making Nicoise salad with a photo:

First you need to prepare foods that require heat treatment: boil eggs and beans, bake potatoes in their skins in the oven (do not remove the peel after the potatoes are ready!).

Onion (to give the dish brightness, you can take blue varieties) cut into half rings.

Cut the eggs, tomatoes, olives into two parts, crush the capers with a knife.

Cut the potatoes in the skin into slices, cut the asparagus beans in half.

Now marinate the tuna: mix the indicated marinade ingredients and immerse the tuna in this mixture for 20 minutes.

Then fry the fish in a grill pan over high heat so that ruddy stripes appear on top, and juicy half-baked flesh appears in the middle. The duration of cooking on one side is 3 minutes.

Take a deep container, tear the washed and dried salad mixture into it.

Then add all prepared vegetables.

Whisk together all the ingredients for the salad dressing, add it to the vegetables and toss the salad.

The highlight of a real Niçoise is the garlic-smeared plate in which the dish is served. Therefore, prepare a salad bowl grated with garlic.
Put the salad in it, put slices of fried tuna on top, decorate Nicoise with basil leaves. Salad ready!

Interesting variations of Nicoise salad - recipes with photos

Nicoise salad can be not just a light snack, but also a full dinner. After all, it can be cooked in different ways! Grilled tuna can be easily replaced with anchovies, bell pepper and cucumber can be added to the taste, and potatoes and eggs can be excluded from the list of priority ingredients. And finally, you can "play" with the dressing, using new combinations of Provence herbs. Agree, not every dish gives vent to fantasy and innovation.

Nicoise salad with tuna and anchovies

If you can’t decide what to choose for a salad - anchovies or tuna, this Nicoise option is just for you. What is the secret of this salad? The combination of two types of fish and vegetables makes the taste of Niçoise balanced: fish provides nutrition, and herbs and vegetables provide lightness and aroma.

What products need to be prepared:

Tuna in own juice - 240 g.
Lettuce leaves - 120 g.
Green string beans - 250 g.
Tomatoes - 2 pcs.
Eggs - 2 pcs.
Potato - 150 g.
Bulgarian pepper red and yellow - ½ pcs.
Pitted olives - 8-10 pcs.
Anchovies (fillet) - 4 pcs.

For sauce:

Olive oil - 50 ml.
Wine vinegar (white) - 20 ml.
Garlic - ½ clove.
Salt, pepper, mustard - to taste.

Cooking features:

Rub the potatoes well with a brush, wash and boil in their skins. Then cool in cool water and peel. Cut the root vegetable into circles.
Dip the beans in boiling water for 8 minutes, then drain them in a colander and rinse under running ice water to keep their bright green color.
Bake the pepper in the oven at 200⁰С until tender. Then put the vegetable in a bag and tie it tightly for 10 minutes. Then easily separate the skin and remove the seeds. Cut the pepper into strips.
Slice the tomato into 0.5 cm thick slices.
Put the eggs in a saucepan with water and cook for 9 minutes, starting from the moment of boiling.
Then clean them, cut into 4 slices.
Place the tuna on a paper towel to get rid of excess liquid.
Put the crushed garlic, vinegar and salt in a bowl, start whisking the sauce with a whisk, slowly pouring in the oil. As a result, you will have an emulsion.
Arrange a ball of lettuce leaves on a plate, put beans, vegetables, eggs on top. Then put the tuna, followed by anchovies with olives.
Pour the dressing over the salad and you can start tasting.

Nicoise salad from Yulia Vysotskaya

Yulia Vysotskaya, well-known in the culinary world, kindly shared the secrets of the authentic Provencal snack Nicoise, which can be tasted in any institution on the Cote d'Azur. Vysotskaya considers exclusively canned tuna and young potatoes to be ideal products for Nicoise, while she prefers to leave peppers fresh without baking, and buys only frozen beans.

Main Ingredients:

Green beans - 350 g.
Cucumbers - 4 pcs.
Quail eggs - 10 pcs.
Cherry tomatoes - 300 g.
Tuna in oil - 2 cans.
Sweet yellow and red pepper - 1/3 each.
Young potatoes - 12 pcs.
Red onion - 70 g.
Green onions - 100 g (1 bunch).
Capers - 25 pcs.
Olive oil - 40 mg.

Filling ingredients:

Dijon mustard - 1.5 tbsp. l.
Red wine vinegar - 1.5 tsp.
Lemon - ½ pc.
Sea salt - ¼ tbsp. l.
Sulfur pepper - to taste.

Cooking:

Boil the beans according to the instructions on the package.
Boil young potatoes in salt water, then drain the liquid and place the potatoes in a container with ice. This will keep it from crumbling in the salad.
Put the potatoes cut into 3-4 parts in a salad bowl, pour oil over it so that it does not stick together.
Cut the green onion diagonally and send to the potatoes.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, peel the peppers and cucumbers, cut into thin slices, cut the red onion into rings. Place vegetables in bowl with potatoes.
Dip the eggs in boiling water for 2 minutes, then let them cool, peel and cut into 2 parts. Put them with vegetables.
Add beans, capers and tuna (no oil). Mix everything and put in a portioned salad bowl.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients with a fork and pour over the salad dressing.

Nicoise with tuna - a recipe with an unusual approach

What the human imagination does not come up with in the conditions of the modern rhythm of life. If you don't have time to leisurely enjoy the taste of a French dish or you unexpectedly decide to dine in nature, this is no reason to deny yourself your favorite salad. This original way of serving Niçoise in a sandwich is just great.

What do you need:

Fresh loaf or baguette (you can use wheat, buckwheat, with bran) - 1 pc.
Tomatoes - 450 g.
Boiled eggs - 2 pcs.
Olives - 4 tbsp. l.
Capers - 15 g.
Garlic - 2-3 cloves.
Canned tuna - 350-400 g.
Olive oil - 5 tbsp. l.
Basil - 1 handful.
Wine vinegar - 2 tsp.
Salt, pepper - a pinch each.

Step by step preparation:

Stir olive oil with vinegar, salt, chopped garlic (you can add spices).
Cut the loaf lengthwise into two even parts, grease the cut points with the resulting dressing.
Cut tomatoes, eggs and olives into circles.
Separate the tuna from the juice and crumble it with a fork.
Take one part of a loaf, put a ball of tomatoes, a ball of capers, a ball of olives on top of the dressing, salt a little.
Then add eggs and tuna. Spread basil on top.
Now cover with the second part of the loaf and press the resulting sandwich tightly.
Wrap the dish in cling film and leave it under the load for half an hour.
Now you can remove the film and cut Nicoise into portions.

Nicoise with chicken in a new way

Who said that Nicoise is made with tuna and no substitution options are acceptable. It’s just that the poor sailors didn’t have anything but fish, and the chicken was beyond the bounds of possibility for them. But now the living conditions are completely different than a couple of millennia ago, so why not make a few changes to the old salad recipe.

You will need:

Chicken fillet - 700 g.
Arugula - a bunch.
Green beans - 200 g.
Black olives - 60 g.
Eggs - 3-4 pcs.
Cherry tomatoes - 200 g.

For sauce:

Olive oil - 1/3 cup.
Citrus juice - 20 ml.
Garlic - 2 cloves.
Grainy mustard - 1 tbsp. l.

Cooking process:

Dip the washed chicken fillet in boiling water, remove the foam and cook it for 20 minutes. Then let the meat cool and cut into cubes.
Mix chopped garlic with dressing products, mix everything until smooth.
Boil the beans in chicken broth for about 7 minutes, drain them in a colander.
Cut the boiled eggs, tomatoes and olives in two, wash the arugula.
Tomatoes, olives, arugula and beans, pour ½ part of the dressing and mix.
Place the tuna and eggs on top of the vegetables and drizzle with the rest of the dressing.
Salad ready. Enjoy your meal!

When Niçoise starts to cook in the kitchen, the basic recipe shows incredible flexibility and tolerance. For starters, you can replace the fish. It is not always possible to find tuna or anchovy fillets, so using anchovy or capelin would be a good alternative. You can also use potatoes, which even the native French recognized in the salad, however, there was not without a loud debate on this topic. And at the end, you can endlessly add or take away fresh vegetables. In a word, every time you can get your signature Nicoise.

Remember, any French Niçoise recipe is just a guide and an example for inspiration for you, and not a culinary dogma without the right to change. If you do not like some component in the salad, you can no doubt replace it with your favorite product. After all, the dish you have prepared should please you, and not Provencal restaurateurs.