Niçoise Salad

The city of Nice, France located in the French Rivera is known for many things including the creation of this elegant, but simple salad that carries its namesake, Niçoise. In this version, I skipped the tuna and opted for a delicious bean salad. The contrasting flavors and textures of the beans and greens harmonize beautifully with the shallot dressing.

If you or your family love tuna, you can drain and mix a small can of tuna into the bean salad. It's delicious that way too!

Servings 2

Ingredients

Shallot vinaigrette:

1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
5 sprigs fresh basil chopped
5 sprigs Italian parsley chopped
1/2 shallot, finely diced
A pinch of salt
Whisk ingredients together and set aside.

Bean Salad

15 oz can of white beans, Cannellini, or Great Northern
1 celery stalk, petite diced
Handful of basil chopped
1/4 cup red onion or green onion, petite diced
1 tbsp shallot dressing
2 tbsp capers, drained
Mix ingredients. Add 1 tbsp of vinaigrette. Set aside to marinate.
While your bean salad is marinating, prepare the salad.

Salad

8 petite red potatoes
12 oz bag of fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
10 Niçoise olives or Kalamata olives
2 hearts of palm, sliced
3 cups spinach washed and ready to serve
1 cup arugula washed and ready to serve

Instructions

Boil red potatoes. I like to boil and then broil the potatoes in a hot oven or air fryer to make them crisp, but the extra work is optional. While potatoes are boiling, wash the spinach and arugula. Place in a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 tbsp of dressing, toss together, and set aside.
Boil water in a medium pot to blanch the green beans. When water is boiling, drop the green beans into boiling water. When green beans turn bright green, remove and place in an ice bath to cool and preserve the beautiful color.
Arrange greens on a plate, add bean salad, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, olives, hearts of palm, and remaining vinaigrette on the side. Enjoy! Serves 2.