2 servings; 15 min cooking; 10 preparation.

Today I was craving for something fresh and light that does not involve a lot of cooking. I decided to make a dish I haven’t eaten in a long time – salad Niçoise. It’s a traditional French salad that normally is made of crispy lettuce, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, tuna, green beans and hard-boiled eggs. Of course there are many variations and every chef puts his own spin on it.

This fresh and colourful salad originally comes from the sunny city of Nice in France and it’s very typical for the Province region. It combines fresh ingredients from the region and it could be used as a side-dish to meat and fish dishes, although it could be eaten as a light lunch by itself. This salad is the perfect way to bring Mediterranean flavours in your home.

Ingredients

• 150 g tuna, canned or fresh
• 150 g lettuce
• 100 g new potatoes, boiled
• 80 g green beans
• 20 cherry tomatoes
• 10 anchovies
• 50 g black olives, pitted
• 2 eggs, soft-boiled

for the yogurt-mustard dressing

• 2 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp French mustard
• 1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp acacia honey
• white pepper
• salt

Preparation

Wash the potatoes from any dirt. Boil them with the skin in a pan with salted water until they become getting soft. Remove both ends of the green beans. When the water starts boiling add the green beans to the pan. Blanche for 5-7 min, then remove from the pan. Depending on the size, cut the potatoes in half or in four pieces. If the green beans are too long, cut them in half.

Put the eggs in a pan with water and bring to the boil. Boil the eggs for 4-5 min. Peel the shell, cut in half and set aside.

Wash all vegetables. Cut the lettuce leaves in small pieces. I normally do that by hand. Cut the curry tomatoes and pitted black olives in half. Add to the lettuce. Toss the green beans and potatoes on top.

Remove the tuna from the can and let it drain. Use a fork to separate in pieces. Drain the anchovies from the oil and cut in half. Add the tuna and the anchovies to the lettuce. If you are using fresh tuna, sear it on each side for 2 minutes until it gets some colour.

Prepare the dressing by mixing all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Pour a little bit of dressing on top of the salad and decorate with the soft-boiled eggs. Enjoy!