Nicoise Salad with Basil

⏳ Time

20 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

This is not quite an orthodox version of the famous Nicoise salad — it usually does not include potatoes — but in this form, it can serve as both a salad and a main course, especially if you take plenty of tuna with the potatoes.

Ingredients

Tuna - 5 oz
Canned cod liver - 0 oz
Quail Egg - 4 pieces
Marinated mini artichokes - 5 oz
Cucumbers - 5 oz
Tomatoes - 5 oz
Sun-Dried Tomatoes - 0 oz
Sweet Pepper - 2 pieces
Olives stuffed with lemon - 0 oz
Radish - 0 oz
Mixed salad greens - 0 oz
Romaine lettuce - 0 oz
Celery salt - 30 pieces
Cress salad - 0 oz
Honey - 0 oz
Whole egg - 3 pieces
Dijon Mustard - 0 oz
Champagne Vinegar - 2 spoons
Olive Oil - 5 teaspoons
Balsamic Vinegar - 5 fl oz
Vegetable Oil - 5 fl oz
Soy Sauce - 0 fl oz
Basil - 0 oz
Thyme - 2 stalks
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ground Black Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Take two bell peppers, one red and one yellow. Remove the stems, clean out the seeds, and place a crushed garlic clove and a sprig of thyme in their place. Wrap them in foil and bake for forty minutes at 355°F. After that, immediately plunge them into icy water, peel off the skin, and cut them into any desired shape.

Step 2

For homemade mayonnaise, mix three egg yolks with Dijon mustard and, while gradually stirring, slowly pour in vegetable oil. At the end, add a couple of teaspoons of sherry vinegar, salt, and pepper. Combine the mayonnaise with canned tuna that has been blended until smooth.

Step 3

For the dressing, reduce the balsamic vinegar by four times, add honey and 3–4 tablespoons of olive oil, and mix well.

Step 4

Sauté the tuna in a spoonful of olive oil until golden brown. Cut into moderately thick slices.

Step 5

Spread the tuna-mayonnaise mixture across the bottom of the plates. Evenly distribute the salad mix (frisée, arugula, baby spinach, chard) and mini romaine on top. Follow with coarsely chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, marinated artichokes, halved boiled quail eggs, olives, bell pepper, basil, and thinly sliced radishes.

Step 6

At the very end, add the seared tuna, drizzle it with olive oil and soy sauce, garnish with celery leaves and watercress, and drizzle with honey-balsamic dressing.