Nicoise Salad with Seared Ahi Tuna

I'm a firm believer in two things: 1) that eating healthy can be incredibly delicious 2) pulling culinary inspiration from around the world is the best way to achieve 1).  I love scouring through international recipes or better yet, cooking with friends from other countries. I had the pleasure of being raised in Hawaii by my Canadian mother and French nanny. For this reason, French cooking is particularly close to my heart and for this blog post I've chosen Salad Nicoise with Seared Ahi Tuna.

Salad Niçoise (pronounced nee-suaz) is to France what Cobb Salad is to North Americans. It offers substance and diversity that puts a common green salad to shame. Salad Niçoise hails from Nice, on the Mediterranean Sea and packs its punch with tuna, eggs, green beans, olives and potatoes. Traditionally the Niçoise are made with canned tuna. It might be the Hawaiian in me but I personally find this boring and not very delicious. If you're in a time crunch cook the green beans, potato, eggs and make the salad dressing ahead of time. You can also use canned tuna to save time and/or money. 

Vinaigrette

4 tablespoons chopped olives
2 tablespoon chopped roasted red peppers
2 clove garlic chopped finely
2 anchovy chopped 
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
Juice of one lemon 
10 tablespoons olive oil 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk ingredients together; season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

 

Nicoise Salad with Seared Ahi Tuna
  
2 ahi tuna steaks* (8 oz each) or 1 large 16oz (or 2-3 cans of tuna)
4 hard or soft poiled eggs peeled, either halved or quartered
10 small new red or white potatoes
1 box micro greens or 2 heads of lettuce
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion, sliced very thin
8 ounces green beans, stem ends trimmed
1/2 cup niçoise olives

Prep all veggies and marinate tuna steaks in a little olive oil for an hour.
Bring potatoes and 4 quarts cold water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and cook until potatoes are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon (do not discard boiling water). Toss warm potatoes with a little olive oil, set aside.
Bring water to boil; add 1 tablespoon salt and green beans. Cook until tender but crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain beans, set aside. 
Place eggs a medium sauce pan covered by 1 inch of water. Bring to boil then lower heat slightly and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from pan and place in a bowl of cold water. Remove shells, set aside.
Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Sear tuna 1.5 minutes on each side until browned. Cut tuna into 1/2-inch thick slices.
Assembly! Scatter the lettuce on place. Cluster green beans, potatoes, olives, tomatoes and tuna as desired. Cut eggs in half and put    Drizzle with dressing and serve immediately. Bon Appetit!