Salade niçoise with haricot verts

Salade Niçoise is a classic French composed salad that is a meal in itself. Hearty and healthful, it gets its name from the small, dark brown—slightly purplish olives with an herbal fragrance. But the other star of this salad is the slim, filet-style green beans known in France as haricot verts. Truthfully, you could use any long green bean for this salad, but it’s worth it to use haricot verts for their elegant appearance and crisp texture.

The other components of Salade Niçoise are boiled red potatoes, tuna in oil, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, lettuce, and radishes, paired with the bright green beans and dark olives, the composition makes a pretty—and nutritious—plate. The salad is topped off with a classic Dijon vinaigrette that complements all the elements, but especially the green beans, beautifully. But what else would you expect from a French recipe?

Some Salade Niçoise recipes include anchovies and capers and additional vegetables such as bell peppers, artichokes, or red onions. In reality, there is some disagreement as to the definitive ingredients list. So, feel free to add or subtract components—except for the olives and the haricot verts. It’s impossible to enjoy a Salade Niçoise without them!

A well-composed Salade Niçoise with tender-crisp haricot verts is a thing of beauty—and a joy to eat. Served on the patio in summer, it will take your thoughts away to Provence where you can imagine yourself plucking your own niçoise olives in a Mediterranean breeze. And if you can’t do that, well, at least you can grow your own filet green beans, or haricot verts, for this nutritious main dish salad.

Salade Niçoise with Haricot Verts

Pretty to look at and packed with protein, Salad Niçoise with Haricot Verts never goes out of style.

• Author: Norann Oleson
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4
• Category: Salads & Dressings

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound red-skinned potatoes, sliced 1/3-inch thick
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 10 ounces haricot verts or slim green beans, trimmed
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 head Boston lettuce, leaves separated, washed, and patted dry
• 6 radishes, trimmed and quartered
• 2 5 1/2-ounce cans of Italian or Spanish tuna, packed in oil, drained
• 1/2 cup niçoise olives

Instructions

1. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl; drizzle with the wine and let cool. Reserve the saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, bring a separate saucepan of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with salted ice water. Add the haricots verts to the boiling water; cook until crisp-tender and bright green, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to cool; drain and pat dry.
3. Place the eggs in the reserved saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, then run under cold water to cool. Peel under cold running water.
4. Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
5. Toss the tomatoes in a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/4 cup dressing to the potatoes and toss. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs.
6. Divide the lettuce among 4 plates. Arrange the potatoes, haricots verts, radishes, hard-cooked eggs, and tuna on top. Pour any juices from the tomatoes into the dressing, then add the tomatoes to the plates. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the olives.

Have you tried this recipe? It’s a great main dish with plenty of flavor—please tell us how it turned out for you.