French Salade Niçoise
Salade Niçoise is a protein-packed salad full of eggs, tuna, olives and veggies. This recipe from the southern coast of France, is the perfect, hearty salad recipe for those chilly early spring days.
French salade Niçoise
Salade Niçoise (pronounced SAL-ahd nee-SWAZ) is one of those classic dishes that never looks the same.
You'd think there would be some set of standards to this French salad, but every chef likes to put their own variation on it. And, everyone has their own opinion about what a 'true' Niçoise salad should include.
Sometimes you'll see green beans, sometimes not. You might even catch fava beans in there at times.
Olives?
Artichoke hearts?
Anchovies?
Lettuce? Or no lettuce at all?
What does Niçoise mean?
Niçoise is French for "in the style of Nice." Nice (pronounced NEECE), is a coastal city in Provence in the south of France, along the Mediterranean.
Nice is known for its markets and fresh produce, as well as ingredients like olives and anchovies.
This means that a proper Niçoise salad should include ingredients popular in the region:
- olives
- anchovies
- tomatoes
- French beans
These are a great start.
Variations on salad Niçoise
Salade Niçoise is a beautiful one because it is so full of different colors, shapes and textures of the fresh produce.
And, while it's hard to find THE authentic recipe, the many variations on the salad are nice because you can often throw it together from what you have on hand, or what you prefer.
Salade Niçoise is known as a "market salad", which means that you could quickly put it together from you market findings for the day.
So traditionally, it does not contain any cooked ingredients.
But, you will still commonly find variations that include boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, and steamed beans.
Other (not so traditional) additions could include fava beans, artichokes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and crisp lettuce.
Yes, this is one of those salads (like a traditional Greek salad) that don't necessarily need to contain lettuce.
Even tuna, which many people associate with salade Niçoise, is simply a common adaptation.
The dressing is (almost) always a classic Provencal French vinaigrette with garlic and a little mustard.
Making our salade Niçoise recipe
We opted to broaden the spectrum with our salade Niçoise today and included boiled potatoes and steamed green beans.
We also included tuna and eggs, which are more widely accepted additions.
We arranged everything on a bed of crisp Romaine to provided a nice base and a delightful crunch.
Using anchovies in salade Niçoise
Let's talk a minute about anchovies.
For us Americans, most of the time anchovies are a big NO! The tinned versions are just too chewy and salty for our palates.
But, I'd encourage you to face your fear for the sake of this salad. We're channeling the vibes of the Mediterranean coast after all!
Good anchovies are very hard to come by (we're still looking), but the tinned, oil-packed version will still work.
First, rinse them well. That will take away some of the saltiness. Then, pat them dry and then chop them up. In small pieces, they add nice bursts of texture and flavor to the salad.
If you are an anchovy fan and prefer them whole, more power to you.
More French Provençal recipes to try
With its use of fresh vegetables and Mediterranean flavors, recipes from the Provence region in the south of France are wonderful to experiment with in the spring and summer. Here are some other recipes to try!
- Petits Farcis (Provençal Sausage Stuffed Zucchini)
- Ratatouille
- Fougasse (Provençal Flat Bread)
- Olive Tapenade
Salade Niçoise
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- ¼ c extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Salad
- 1 lb red or new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
- ½ lb fresh green beans, trimmed
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
- ½ lb Roma tomatoes, quartered
- 1 bunch romaine lettuce, washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- ½ c olives (Nicoise if you can find them)
- 4 oz tuna, solid, water packed, drained
- 2 oz anchovies, chopped small (optional)
Instructions
For the Vinaigrette
- Mix all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside to let the flavors meld while you prepare the salad.
For the Salad
- Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes, or until tender when pricked with a fork. Drain the water. Cover the potatoes with cold water to let them cool slightly. Drain before using.
- Place the green beans in a medium saucepan with 1 inch of water. Bring the water to a boil and steam the beans for 1-2 minutes, until they are brightly colored, but still crisp. Drain the boiling water and cover with beans with cold water to keep them from cooking further. Drain before using.
- To construct the salad, place a bed of chopped romaine on your serving platter. Arrange the boiled potatoes, steamed green beans, eggs, tomatoes, olives, tuna, and anchovies over the romaine. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving.
- Serve with a crusty French baguette.
Nutrition
This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We've updated our pictures since we first shared it, but we've left some originals here, in case you've found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
I like the other recipes I've seen on your website, but being from Nice, this recipe is a big no-no from me, on behalf of my entire town!
Just like in pan bagnat, there is absolutely NO cooked vegetable in salade niçoise, ever. So absolutely no green beans or potatoes. There's also no lettuce.
The main (raw) vegetables we use tend to be those you find around spring and early summer time, like tomatoes, spring onions, radishes, sweet peppers (the local variety is long, and picked green), small purple artichokes (which are eaten raw in Nice, but I'm not sure this variety exists in many places), young broad beans (early in the season as if you wait too long, the beans become more bitter and aren't as nice when raw). There's also basil, non-pitted olives and lots of olive oil. There is absolutely no mustard. Some use celery, but cucumber is frowned upon.
As for the protein, it's usually anchovies, sometimes hard-boiled eggs, and for those who don't like anchovies, tuna. Some add garlic, but that's usually used more for rubbing all over the bread for pan bagnat rather than in the salad.
There's no vinaigrette really; the only thing used for the "sauce" is olive oil. There's also no parsley, or other herb, just basil.
Pan bagnat is the same thing, but inside a large round bun!
Thanks for sharing Camille. Like we mention in the article, there are so many ways to make this salad. It's great to hear your version!
Delicious! I love Salad and eat one every day for lunch. This one is protein packed and looks absolutely divine. Thanks also for the dressing recipe to go with it! I'm super excited for a new, sugar-free salad dressing to dress my salads with! #client
Thanks Summer! We have been all about homemade dressings so far this spring!