What’s Cooking

I’ve been making Salade Nicoise, pronounced “nee-SWAZ.” since I was given a copy of Recipes: The Cooking of Provincial France. I followed the recipe exactly for years, but not anymore. These days I sometimes use cannellini beans instead of the traditional oil and vinegar potato salad because it is much healthier, and I like its texture. Sometimes I roast both the potatoes and the string beans to create a salad with a more intense flavor. I often add capers and basil and leave out the anchovies. In other words you can alter the recipe to match your mood or personality.

I am not the first person to make changes to an established recipe. Nigel Slater is an English (with the name Nigel what else would he be) food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He says:

To be true to its name this salad must be true to its geography – it must reek of olives, garlic, anchovy and tomatoes. Crisp lettuce also turns up every time. The rest – the beans, the artichokes, the hard-boiled eggs, the onion, broad beans, new potatoes and chopped onion – will depend on the whim of those in the kitchen.

I don’t agree with Nigel on all of this. I have never seen a Salade Nicoise recipe without tuna and he doesn’t even mention it. I once saw Julia Child make one on TV and I am pretty sure her recipe had tuna. I am going to have to find that show and watch it again. I’ll let you know what I find out.

Ingredients

• 1 large head Boston or romaine lettuce, leaves washed and dried
• 1 – 2 cups canned cannellini beans, washed and drained, or small potatoes, halved, roasted with olive oil and kosher salt
• 4 large firm ripe tomatoes, quartered – can substitute Roma tomatoes
• 3 hard-cooked eggs, preferably steamed; cooled, peeled, and quartered,
• 1 seven-ounce can of tuna packed in olive oil, drained and broken into chunks
• ½ cup Nicoise olives, preferably pitted
• 4 – 6 flat anchovy fillets, drained
• 2 cups blanched string beans, chilled or roasted string beans
• ½ cup your favorite vinaigrette, preferably homemade
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Line a serving platter with the lettuce
2. Create a pattern with groupings of 1/2 the cannellini beans or potatoes; tomatoes; egg quarters, and green beans along one side of the platter and the other half along the other side
3. Mound the tuna in the middle
4. Attractively place the anchovies on top of the tuna
5. Place groups of olives between the vegetables that line the platter
6. Place a small amount of vinaigrette over the salad to moisten it
7. Sprinkle parsley over the platter
8. Serve each diner a portion of all the salad ingredients and pass the rest of the dressing

When I am not grilling salmon, this is the recipe I turn to the most. I love the color combination of the bright red burst tomatoes and the pink/orange color of the salmon. The combination of flavors and textures makes this a dish you want to eat slowly so you can savor every mouthful. You can skin the salmon before you cook it, but it peels off very easily afterward.

The recipe serves two, but you can easily double or triple it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• Cooking spray
• 2 6-ounce salmon fillets 1 inch thick
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Combine all ingredients through garlic in a non-stick pan or use cooking spray or non-stick foil
3. Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes
4. Raise heat to 450 degrees
5. Add fish to the pan
6. Put some of the tomato mixtures on top of the salmon
7. Roast for an additional 10-15 minutes until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, or when internal temperature registers 140 degrees
8. Drizzle with the lemon juice
9. Serve with the rest of the tomato mixture over the salmon