Meg Goes Nom Nom

This past spring, I attended the launch of the Ann Arbor Dishcrawl event and one of the dishes that really made an impression on me was the Salade Niçoise at Café Felix:

Niçoise Salad is a French salad that is basically a big tasting plate of healthy, delicious goodness, including tuna, tomatoes, olives, potatoes, hard boiled egg, and green beans, dressed in a light vinaigrette dressing.

When in Prague last month, one day I ordered a lovely Niçoise Salad for lunch one day, as well. Though we weren’t in France, this was a perfect summer lunch!

The best part of that Niçoise Salad was the VIEW! We dined on this amazing terrace overlooking Prague and Petrín Hill. I want to live on this terrace.

One we were back home, I decided that I must try making my own Niçoise Salad. First I boiled veggies: red potatoes and green beans.

Due to the fact that I was watching my waistline after eating lots of CARBS AND MEAT in Prague the week prior, I tried out a recipe from the Food Network for Light Nicoise Salad, with only a few small tweaks and substitutions.

The dressing, which was simply a puree of fresh tomatoes, olive oil, light mayonnaise, and red wine vinegar, was prepared exactly as instructed by the recipe.  After a spin around the blender, I was left with this beautiful creamy red tomato dressing for the salad.

Salty olives, fresh summery basil, and hard-boiled egg added lots of flavor, color, and interest to the salad.

To compose the salad, I first prepared a generous pile of Bibb lettuce on each plate, and drizzled with some of the tomato dressing.

In a separate bowl, I tossed canned albacore tuna, cooked green beans and potatoes, and sliced bell pepper with the remaining dressing. This dressed tuna mixture was then placed atop the greens.

The remaining ingredients – hard boiled eggs, olives, chopped fresh basil – were then arranged atop the salad base, to create this lovely summer dinner.

What I love about Niçoise Salad is that it never gets boring, No two bites are the same. With each forkful, I like to compose a different combination of flavors. Egg and olives? Green beans and tuna? Potatoes and basil? Like it said, this salad keeps dinner interesting.

If you’re looking for a light, refreshing, and healthy summer meal, I do recommend this recipe. Obviously you can add or omit ingredients to suit your fancy!

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Light Niçoise Salad

Recipe lightly adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, quartered
• salt
• 3/4 pound green beans
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes or chopped plum tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 head Bibb lettuce, leaves separated
• 2 5-ounce cans tuna packed in water, drained
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped pitted kalamata or nicoise olives
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water by about 2 inches. Add a pinch of salt, cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high and simmer until just tender, about 5-8 minutes. Add the snap peas and continue simmering, covered, until the peas are crisp-tender, about 3 more minutes. Drain the potatoes and peas and rinse under cold water; transfer to a large bowl.
2. Make the dressing: Puree the tomatoes, olive oil, mayonnaise, vinegar and 1 tablespoon water in a blender.
3. Divide the lettuce among 4 bowls and drizzle with some of the dressing. Add the tuna, bell pepper, olives and basil to the potatoes and peas; add the remaining dressing and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper, then pile on top of the lettuce.

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Makes four medium salads or two really big ones.

My rating: 7.8/10