This is my go-to summer salad. Inspired by the French classic Salade Niçoise, ingredients are layered on top of a bed of greens, rather than tossed together. It is truly the perfect dish for any alfresco soirėe, making a beautiful presentation and showcasing all the bountiful summer produce. I usually make this salad with just vegetables, but sometimes I add some imported Italian tuna.
Summer French Chef Salad
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 large head green leaf lettuce, cleaned, dried and torn into bite sized pieces
- 8 baby potatoes, any variety
- ½ pound green beans, trimmed
- 4 large eggs
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 6 ounce can whole artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
- 6 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
- ½ small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
- 6 basil leaves, julienned
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 can (jar) tuna packed in oil, drained, optional
- Dressing
- 1 shallot, minced
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoonDijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup Extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Prepare an ice bath.
- Add the potatoes to the pot and boil until easily pierced with a tip of a knife, about 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon to a clean plate and let cool.
- Add the green beans to the still-boiling water and cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove the green beans with the slotted spoon and place in the ice bath to cool.
- Add the eggs to the pot of still-boiling water and cook over medium-high heat for 6-7 minutes.
- While the eggs are cooking, drain the green beans and set aside with the potatoes and prepare another ice bath. Once done cooking, place the eggs in the ice bath and cool for a few minutes. Peel the eggs while submerged under cold running water and set aside.
- In the meantime, prepare the vinaigrette.
- Lightly toss the greens with about two tablespoons vinaigrette and arrange in the middle of a large platter.
- Cut the green beans in half crosswise and along with the tomatoes, place them in segments around the lettuce. Quarter the potatoes and eggs into wedges and arrange, with the artichokes, in the same fashion. Scatter the radishes, onions and olives over the top of the greens. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and gently flake the tuna over the top, if using. You can also substitute tuna for ½ cup shaved fresh Parmesan. Garnish with basil and season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.
Leave a Reply