Chopped Nicoise Salad Recipes

Steps:

• Blanch the wax beans: Plunge the beans into salted boiling water and let cook, 2 minutes. Remove and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Dry off completely.
• Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, capers and pepperoncini in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Drain the tuna. Leave the tuna in big chunks; do not crumble. Place the lettuce on a platter. Arrange the tuna, onions, wax beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, roasted peppers and olives on top. Drizzle liberally with the dressing. Garnish with the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Steps:

• On a large platter, place the romaine lettuce and top decoratively with the rest of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle with Lemon-Olive Vinaigrette and serve.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, and vinegar. Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk to create an emulsion. Add the thyme, olives, and salt and pepper, to taste. Let sit at least 10 minutes to marry the flavors.

Steps:

• Make the vinaigrette: Using the flat side of a knife, smash garlic clove, anchovy fillets and salt into a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in lemon juice, zest and mustard. Using a whisk, slowly pour in olive oil while stirring constantly. Adjust seasoning as needed.
• Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover them with 2 or 3 inches of cold water. Salt the water and bring to a boil. When water comes to a boil, continue cooking potatoes until fork tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Add haricots verts during the last 1 minute of cooking (if using regular green beans, add them during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking depending on how thin they are). Drain vegetables and let sit until cool enough to handle but still quite warm. Halve potatoes, transfer to a small bowl along with the haricots verts and dress everything to coat with some (but not all) of the vinaigrette. When completely cool, toss in chopped basil.
• On a large platter or four individual plates, arrange potatoes and haricots verts, radishes or cucumbers, tomatoes and tuna, and hard-boiled eggs, if using. Scatter olives over the top and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Serve garnished with freshly ground black pepper, flaky sea salt and torn basil leaves.

Steps:

• Potatoes: Fill a small saucepan with water. Add potatoes, thyme sprig, bay leaf, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Haricots vert: Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. When boiling, add a big pinch of salt, followed by haricots verts. Cook until tender with a slight snap, 4-9 minutes depending on size. Eggs: Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. When boiling, use a spoon to gently ease eggs into the water. Cook exactly 7½ minutes. Meanwhile, prepare two ice baths: Fill two large bowls with water and plenty of ice.
• Scallions: Trim away the very end of the root while keeping scallion intact; remove the thick outer layer. Cut away the dark green top, leaving a 3-inch length of white and light-green scallion. Make several 1-inch vertical cuts down the top to create a scallion "brush." Repeat with all the scallions and place them in an ice bath to preserve freshness. Radishes: Slice each radish lengthwise into thin slices. Set aside.
• When beans are mostly tender with a touch of firmness, use a strainer to transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Remove eggs and place them into the same ice bath. Check potatoes for doneness by piercing one with a knife; there should be no resistance. Remove potatoes and set aside; discard thyme and bay leaf. Peel eggs, slice in half lengthwise, and set aside.
• Assembly: On a serving platter, layer the Boston lettuce, followed by the baby gem. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and distribute evenly, followed by haricots verts, scallions, whole tomatoes, radish, large chunks of tuna, and eggs. Garnish with leaves of basil and chervil.
• Pit olives (optional): Place olives on a flat surface. Press the bottom of a small bowl on the olives to loosen their pits; remove and discard the pits. Scatter the pitted olives over the salad. Next, tuck small bunches of arugula within the lettuce. Finally, finish assembling the salad by laying about 10 anchovies evenly across the top.
• Chef Boulud offers two options for dressing the salad. Lemon & Oil Dressing: Zest lemon evenly over the salad, then sprinkle with lemon juice. Drizzle with olive oil, and finish with pepper and salt. (Note: Use salt with moderation, since the tuna and anchovies are already salted.) Grand-Mère's Vinaigrette: In a bowl, add the sliced garlic and a pinch of salt. Use a fork to mash the garlic into a coarse paste. Add mustard, vinegar, and pepper; stir to combine. Add olive oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly with the fork to emulsify. Add a teaspoon of water at a time, whisking between additions, to thin vinaigrette as desired. Place vinaigrette into a serving dish and serve alongside the salad.