Here’s a classic nicoise salad recipe for you to try out real soon! This is a colorful French salad with tuna, fresh tomatoes, green beans, olives and anchovies!
This delicious nicoise salad recipe (salade Niçoise in French) reminds me of numerous hot summer evenings near the Côte d’Azur, France.
That’s where this salad comes from: Nice, a lively and gorgeous city on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea!
You serve this delicious salad cold.
Which makes it the perfect summer salad!
Summer Lunch Salad
And it is also perfect to prepare in the morning or a couple of hours in advance. I even cooked the eggs and blanched the green beans the day before! Lettuce, tomatoes, canned tuna, canned anchovies, black olives, green beans…
With a little meal prep in advance, you can put this summer salad on your table in no time!
Here you go then.
Try it!
Easy Nicoise Salad Recipe (French Tuna Salad)
The ingredients that you need are so simple and yet so freaking delish!
They all work so well together.
I used the classic ingredients: tuna, fresh tomatoes, green beans, olives and anchovies.
However some versions of this salade Niçoise also contain other ingredients. And then I’m talking about stuff such as boiled potatoes, sliced bell pepper, artichokes or grated carrot.
Vegetables & Tuna
Go and add whatever you want. But at least you should include the classic canned tuna, green beans, eggs, olives and tomatoes! I once came across this salad in France and instead of canned tuna the chef added freshly seared tuna.
Gosh, it looked and tasted absolutely fabulous!
So if you can lay your hands on some fresh tuna, just go for it!
The best companion for this salad is a chilled rosé wine or a cold beer.
Pan Bagnat
Do you love this French tuna salad?
Then you will also like the French sandwich version of this salad that goes by the name of pan bagnat! A delicacy in and around Nice as well!
Bon appétit, mes amis.
Enjoy!
Easy Nicoise Salad Recipe Recipe
French Nicoise Salad Recipe
My classic nicoise salad recipe: this is a colorful French tuna salad with fresh tomatoes, green beans, olives and anchovies!
Course: Lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: French
Servings: 2
Calories per serving: 361 kcal
Ingredients
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 5,5 oz green beans (155 g)
- 5,5 oz canned tuna (155 g), drained weight
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 4,5 oz romaine lettuce (125 g), rinsed
- 6 canned anchovy fillets in oil
- a handful black olives pitted
- 2 tbsp onion chopped
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- pepper
- salt
Instructions
Rinse the green beans. Place a large pan of salted water over high heat until boiling. Then blanch the beans in it for 4 minutes until they are nearly soft but still crunchy to the bite.
Refresh them immediately under cold running tap water and put them aside to drain. Then transfer the olive oil, the white wine vinegar, the garlic paste, chopped onion and fresh parsley to a glass or cup. Season with a little pinch of pepper and salt to taste and stir well.
Put the vinaigrette aside until later. Drain the canned tuna and flake it a bit using a fork.
Peel the hard-boiled eggs and slice them up or cut them into quarters.
Rinse the cherry tomatoes and slice them in half.
Then transfer the rinsed green lettuce and blanched green beans to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the olive oil vinaigrette and toss until well combined. Transfer the salad onto plates and top with the sliced boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, canned anchovy filets, pitted black olives and flaked canned tuna. Serve the salad cold.
