It is under a month until we are in Vence again??
There are so many things to look forward to but one of my favorites is the Salad Niçoise.
You will find lots of discussion about what goes into a salad Niçoise. My recipe uses only local ingredients But what makes this salad unusual is that it was most likely a winter salad. All of the ingredients are available in the winter months, (except the lettuce which I think is a modern addition). Replace the lettuce with potato, and you have a substantial winter salad, fit for a shepherd or a king.
This is my version of the famous salad from Nice.
- Lettuce or boiled cubed potatos.
- Runner beans, or If you want to pump it up, you can use asparagus instead of beans.
- Hard-boiled egg
- Celery
- Tinned tuna in (olive) oil
- Anchovies in oil
- Whole fresh radish
- Olives Onion or spring onion
- Sweetcorn.
Many people also add tomatos, peppers, cucumber, artichoke, and other ingredients depending on the season As a dressing, I would recommend a vinaigrette.
The basic version consists of 1/3 wine vinegar, 2/3 olive oil, a sprinkle of Herbes de Provence and a little bit of seasoning such as “Amora”. It hardly needs instructions, but I make it as a “Salad composee”. I start by putting the potato (or lettuce in a big bowl and then adding the other salad vegetables in layers: thinly sliced celery, drained runner beans or cooked asparagus.
A sprinkle of diced onion or chopped spring onion adds an extra burst of flavor. The radishes topped and tailed, go on next. The red and white radishes add a lovely contrast to the green and they make a lovely crunch in the mouth. Next, I add the boiled eggs, shelled and cut lengthways into quarters or slices. The tinned tuna goes on next, together with the oil from the tin.
The oil from the tuna and anchovies (sparingly) give all the moisture and flavoring you need. The anchovies have a wonderfully strong flavor, so break them up and scatter them. Add just enough so that it is in every second mouthful. And finally the olives.
For a Nicoise salad, the local Cailletier olives are best. They are small, but they just explode with flavor. Buy them with the stones in, they have double the flavor. One final tip, If you are using lettuce, it can look sad and wilted soon after adding the oils and dressing. If French people are making it for a picnic later, they will do the Pan Bagnat Bagnat version. Make the sandwich 6 to 24 hours in advance. Wrap it, put weights on it, and let the oil and juices mingle and soak into the bread. This is how the fishermen and shepherds would bring their Salad Nicoise with them for lunch.
Bon appétit
If you like this and want to know more, I am holding some painting retreats in Vence on the Cote dÀzure in France in September and October and I have an online class about drawing faces.
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