My Tuna Niçoise. The story of the Niçoise salad is almost as complicated as the story of Nice. Situated close to the border, Nice is named after the Greek goddess Nike and was part of Italy before being ceded to the French Second Empire in 1860. Known as Nice la Belle or ‘the beautiful’, it is a melting pot of French and Italian history, culture and food. If you are lucky enough to visit, you can enjoy the best of Mediterranean cuisine, including ratatouille and Pissaladière.
The tuna niçoise is a genuinely contentious recipe. The ingredients subject to endless disputes. The first item is what tuna do you use? If you eat out or want to create a picture-perfect Instagram post, then it will most likely be a seared piece of tuna. Carefully sliced and artfully draped across the other ingredients, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you want something that a French person is going to eat, then it will come from a tin or a jar.
What goes in a proper Niçoise?
There is some confusion about the origins of the Salade Niçoise. Some authors believe it may have evolved from the Pan Bagnat. What I can say is that it is a celebration of the region’s best ingredients. The first simple version was a salad of tomatoes, anchovies and olive oil. A recipe by Herni Heyraud in 1903 added raw red pepper, artichokes and black olives. However, the niçoise we all know today is very controversial and also comes from a recipe published in 1903 by the famous French chef Auguste Escoffier, who wrote;
“Take equal quantities of French beans, potato dice, and quartered tomatoes. Decorate with capers, small, stoned olives, and anchovy fillets. Season with oil and vinegar,”
This recipe incensed many people who don’t believe in having cooked vegetables in a niçoise. Foremost amongst these was a former mayor of Nice, called Jaques Medecin. He published his own version in a book called “La Cuisine du Comte de Nice,” using tomatoes, boiled eggs and either tuna or anchovies. Today, a group called the Cercle de la Capelina d’Or serves as a kind of local culinary police force certifying restaurants serving authentic local dishes. They allow the addition of green peppers, spring onions and basil as well as beans, tomatoes, eggs and anchovies or tuna. No dressing. The salad is finished with salt and pepper, olive oil and a few drops of vinegar.
What to drink with Tuna Niçoise?
Pairing a salad from the south of France, my go-to wine would be a lightly chilled Provencal rosé. Those Mediterranean flavours are made to match the fruity, refreshing characteristics of this wine. If you would like to drink a white wine, then try one made with the Vermentino grape, also from the region. Should you prefer a beer, I recommend a light lager style such as a Mediterranean blonde like Bière de Provence or a Brasserie Artisanale de Nice.
If you like this recipe, why not try some of my other great Mediterranean-inspired recipes like a delicious take on ratatouille called Confit Byaldi, a classic Caprese Salad with creamy mozzarella cheese or Tomato Carpaccio with Parmesan and anchovies.
My Tuna Niçoise
I am guilty myself of messing around with a Niçoise. Having previously made a version substituting smoked mackerel, and I do add potatoes and green beans because I like them! I have previously added sliced cucumber and radish before because I like them as too. Originally, tuna was quite expensive, so anchovies were often used as an alternative. Both work really well.
My Tuna Niçoise
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 250 gr quality tinned Tuna, reserve the oil
- 1/2 Romaine Lettuce, washed and dried
- 250 ripe Tomatoes
- 8 Baby potatoes, Jersey Royals if possible
- 100 gr fine French beans, trim the tops and bottoms
- 2 Free-range soft-boiled Eggs
- 20 pitted Olives, drained
- 1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
- Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the soft-boiled eggs, cool rapidly and shell. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
- Bring a pan of salted water to a rapid boil and cook the trimmed French beans for two minutes, then plunge immediately into iced, cold water to refresh. Drain and set to one side.
- Wash and clean the potatoes. Place the potatoes in the pan and cover with cold water. Add a half teaspoon of salt and bring to a gentle boil, simmer until the potatoes slide off a small, sharp knife. Plunge into cold water, cool and drain.
- Halve the tomatoes and carefully cut out the core with a small sharp knife. Cut each tomato half into four pieces.
- Break up the lettuce and arrange all the ingredients in two bowls. Season generously and drizzle with the red wine vinegar and a little of the reserved oil, ,from the tinned tuna.
Notes
Notes
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