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Recipe provided through Masbia’s Emergency Trailer Drive. See below for details.
I love making a hearty salad on a platter and calling it a meal. One that lends itself perfectly to this format is salade Niçoise, the Southern French classic that has transcended borders and is now part of the warm weather canon. One of the things I love about salade Niçcoise, apart from the fact that it’s unfussy, deeply satisfying, and easy to pull together, is that it invites improvisation. In my book, a Niçoise will be a Niçoise so long as there are hard-boiled eggs, some good canned fish (tuna, sardines, anchovies, salmon…), boiled potatoes, olives, green beans, and a nice vinaigrette. In this summer rendition, I include cherry tomatoes, crisp radishes, ripe corn, and sweet onions, but you can make Niçoise any time of year, with whatever vegetables you choose. Boiled beets, raw kale, sliced daikon or kohlrabi… It’s really up to you. As for plating the sardines in the can, I learned that trick from my husband, who picked it up from the great cookbook Salad for President by Julia Sherman. I love how it looks, but if you prefer, take them out of the can and plate them with some of the oil they were packed in drizzled on top.
4 to 6 small potatoes, cleaned
salt, for seasoning
4 to 6 eggs
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut in half
2 ears of corn, shucked, cut into quarters
1/4 cup grainy mustard
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
freshly ground pepper, for seasoning
2 cans quality sardines, lids peeled back
1 head butter lettuce, heart of romaine, or little gem, cleaned and dried
6 to 8 radishes, trimmed, cleaned and quartered
1 cup assorted olives, pitted
1/2 sweet onion, cut into slivers
1 can tuna, drained
Fill a medium pot with water. Add potatoes and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, salt the water, and boil until you can easily sink a knife through the center of the largest potato, about twenty minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside to cool. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them if you like, and cut into quarters.
While the potatoes are cooking, fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the eggs and boil for seven to nine minutes. Drain the eggs and rinse with cold water. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into halves or quarters. Set aside.
Fill a medium pot fitted with a steamer basket with about two inches of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the green beans to the basket, cover, and steam until the beans are bright green and tender, five to seven minutes. Carefully remove the beans from the steamer basket and set aside. Add more water if it has evaporated, bring back to a boil, then place the corn in the steamer basket, cover, and steam until the kernels are brightly colored and tender, seven to 10 minutes. Carefully remove from the steamer basket and set aside.
To make the dressing, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, and lemon juice until thoroughly combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking to emulsify the dressing.
Prepare a large serving platter. Place the open cans of sardines on opposite sides of the platter, then arrange the potatoes, eggs, beans, corn, lettuce, radishes, olives, onion, and tuna on the platter in appealing clusters. Drizzle generously with dressing and serve the salad with the remaining dressing on the side.
Serves 4 to 6
This recipe is provided through Masbia’s Emergency Trailer Drive. Masbia Soup Kitchen Network’s COVID-19 Relief Mobilization started in the beginning of March and is battling this historic food crisis with 500% more emergency food than before the outbreak. At the current rate, over twelve tractor trailer loads are given out every single week to the people standing on those unprecedented breadlines. Please consider sponsoring food during this historic food emergency.
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