Salad Niçoise

Far from it being a recipe set in stone each to their own and I love how everyone has their own twist on it. For a simple kitchen supper a tin of good canned tuna is brilliant but if you want to splash out and make it even more special some seared tuna is hard to beat- make sure you keep it pink. After that the ingredients can be added as per personal taste. Some love the addition of new potatoes and some would rather not, not exactly a Mediterranean ingredient but I always include them in my version. The lettuce must be Gem or Cos this is no place for a limp salad leaf or iceberg lettuce - leave that for the burgers. Anchovies, like Marmite, you love them or hate them, I love them in a roast leg of lamb but not so much in a salad or on a pizza - so I add them to individual plates if requested. Tomatoes must be really ripe and tasty. Garlic, is an absolute must and adding it to the dressing is a more reliable way of doing things than the classic rubbing of the salad bowl trick. I love the salty addition of black olives but again make sure they are a good brand otherwise they just taste insipid. I based my recipe on a Leiths recipe but adapted to my taste. This is a classic and a wonderful one for a summer evening. 

Ingredients

for the dressing

1 tbsp wine vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 clove garlic crushed

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mixed herbs

1/2 red onion thinly sliced

3 tomatoes peeled and quartered

225g cooked french beans

200g can of tuna 

2 gem lettuce

6 anchovy fillets

2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

8 black olives

450g small new potatoes, cooked 

Method

1. Put all the dressing ingredients into a large bowl and whisk well. Stir in the sliced onions.
2. Arrange the salad ingredients carefully on a platter or individual plates. Drizzle over the dressing and serve.