Julia Child’s Salade Nicoise

Total Time: 30 minutes

Salade Nicoise is probably one of the most famous salad recipes by Julia Child. It was one of Julia’s favorite dishes.

Ingredients

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 2 to 3 tablespoons
• Lettuce: 1 head (large, washed and dried)
• Fresh green beans: 1 1/2 pounds (blanched, trimmed, refreshed in water and dried)
• Salt: to taste
• Freshly ground pepper: to taste
• Salad dressing:  2/3 to 1 cup (You can use oil or lemon dressing)
• Oil-packed tuna: 8 to 10 ounces (drained and flaked)
•  Red tomatoes: 3 or 4 (peeled, quartered, cored, and seasoned prior to serving)
•  Hard-boiled eggs: 8 (halved lengthwise)
• French Potato salad:  1 quart
• Flat anchovy filets:  1 can (open and drain it just before serving)
• Capers: 3 to 4 tablespoons
• Black Nicoise-type olives:  1/2 cup
• Fresh parsley: 1/4 cup (minced)

Directions:

1. Take a salad bowl or platter and line it with lettuce leaves, shortly before serving. Drizzle some olive oil on the leaves and dust them with salt.

2. Next, take a mixing bowl and toss the beans into it. Put some dressing and seasoning according to your taste.

3. Drizzle the dressing over the tomatoes. Take the tuna into a plate and season it lightly with a couple of spoons of dressing.

4. Take the platter with lettuce leaves and place the potatoes in the center. Mound beans strategically, intermingling them with the seasoned tomatoes. Mound the tuna at strategic internal as well.

5. Circle the salad with hard-boiled eggs, and twist an anchovy filet on top of every egg.

6. Spoon some more vinaigrette over the salad. Scatter some olives, capers, and parsley.

Enjoy!