As the story has it, in the old days in Nice and the lands beyond the sea – where we live – the fishermen and the farmers combined the catch of the day with the harvests of the day to make a nourishing salad platter. My version is completely plantified and still carries the saltiness and brightness of the sea into the dish. As one of my dear private cheffing clients remarked: “It truly looks and tastes as you would a Niçoise salad to taste!” The bonus: it is a visual stunner that serves 2-3 people as a main dish and 5-6 as a side.
Ingredients
- 1 white potato, skin on
- Bouillon powder
- 0.5 cucumber
- A handful of green beans
- A small can of chickpeas (ca 200 grams)
- 1 sheet of nori
- 1 Tablespoon of Old Bay Spice
- 1 good pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Two gherkins or 1 large one
- A bit of the gherkin juice
- 1 red tomato
- Ca. 10 olives de Nyons black or kalamata olives
- 1 romaine salad
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- A good teaspoon of Dijon mustard
- If desired: a bit of salt, pepper and a drop of agave syrup (for a sweeter taste)
Preparing
- Wash the potato thoroughly, we are going to leave the skin on for additional nutritional value. Dry and cut in equal cubes.
- Take the tops off the green beans, keep them in one piece and put in a mis-en-place vessel.
- Wash the cucumber and cut it in half and the halves in quarters. You end up with bite size quarters. Put these in a mis-en-place vessel.
- Wash and cut the tomato in the same size pieces as the cucumber. Put these in a mis-en-place vessel.
- Wash the romain salad, shake it dry and cut into bite size pieces. You will need ca. ¼ of the salad. Put in a mis-en-place vessel. The rest of the salad: put in a vessel with a lid and put in the fridge. Eat within 4 days.
- Cut the olives half and rove the pith if necessary. Put the halves in a mis-en-place vessel.
- Open the chickpea can, drain and save the aquafaba (for mayonnaise or chocolate mousse or a simple dressing). Put the chickpeas in a mis-en-place vessel.
- Cut the gherkins in small cubes and put in a mis-en-place vessel.
- Cut the nori in small pieces.
- Mix the chickpeas, nori, gherkins and the Old Bay Spice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Use a little bit of the aquafaba to mix it. Taste for seasoning, this is your “fish salad” of the Niçoise. Keep in a separate mis-en-place vessel, let marinate for a bit.
- Put the olive oil, vinegar and mustard together and mix to emulsify. Taste and adjust to your taste.
- To boil your potato parts: put water in a pan and add a good tablespoon of bouillon powder: this gives taste to the potato.
- Put another pan with water on the fire and bring to a boil with a bit of salt: this is to blanche your green beans.
- When the water boils, put the potato pieces in the one with the bouillon and the beans in the pan with salt.
- The beans need to go in for maximum two minutes: they should just be lightly blanched and keep their intense green color. Drain in a colander and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the boiling.
- Test the potato cubes for done-ness: the cubes should be still a bit firm but done. Drain in a colander and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the boiling.
Enjoying
- This is a salad that is wonderful in its variety of tastes, colors and textures so when you compose it, make sure to show those off!
- Start by putting the chickpea salad on one edge.
- Put the cucumber and the tomato opposite each other.
- Put the potato cubes opposite the chickpea salad (balance of colors).
- Fit the romaine salad next to the potato cubs on the side of the cucumber.
- Top with the green beans on one side, and the cut olives on the other side.
- Drizzle the dressing over, especially aiming to get it over the beans, salad, cucumber and tomato. Avoid the chickpea salad.
- Serve fresh with crusted bread and make sure that everybody takes a bit of all ingredients!
Bon appétit! Should you make this recipe, please tag @picnicenprovence on Instagram, I love to enjoy your results albeit digitally.
0 Comments