Salad Nicoise

Sometimes a salad doesn’t sound like enough when a main course may be more than you’re after, you want a bit of flesh, some substance for the leaves to wrap around and more than just a drizzle to add the flavour. The French are master salad makers and do some quite spectacular things with duck gizzards and foie gras that the unethical amongst us can enjoy guilt free, however the most basic and quintessential of the leaf based dishes beyond the ‘salad vert’, is the deliciously fresh Niçoise. This recipe was put together by my baby sister (19, but the youngest) and I added a dash of flavouring and helped with the plating up.

Having paid some attention to ‘The Great Fish Fight’ and several other programs regarding the alarming dissipation of our oceans’ populations, I urge you to enquire as to whether your tuna steaks were sustainably caught before you purchase them. Pole and Line fishing are the two best ways to do so.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

2 tuna steaks

100g mixed olives, stoned and halved

100g plum tomatoes, quartered

1 red onion, finely diced

2 little gem lettuces

150g French beans, boiled and sliced down the middle

3 soft boiled eggs cut into wedges

Extra virgin olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Balsamic vinegar

Small pot of anchovies from the deli

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Season the tuna in salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil and sear briefly on both sides so it is still pink in the middle. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl mix the olives, diced onion and chopped tomatoes with a little seasoning, a dash of olive oil and the same of red wine vinegar.

3. Boil the French beans for 5 minutes until tender, strain and slice carefully down the middle.

4. Pull the individual leaves off the lettuce put in a bowl with the beans, dress in olive oil just before service.

5. Soft boil the eggs for 3 minutes and run under cold water, remove the shells and cut into 6 wedges being careful not to lose the tasty yolk.

6. Finally sear the tuna for another minute on each side so it is medium rare and chop it into rough chunks. Toss the lettuce and beans in olive oil, get a handful and dump it however which way on your plate, as though it just fell from the sky. Do the same with the onion/tomato/olive mix, then the tuna chunks, a few anchovies, the egg wedges, drizzle of olive oil and the same of balsamic vinegar and you’re ready to serve. It is massively important to wait till the last minute to dress your salad as the leaves become heavy and the plate will look flat.