Classic Dishes of Provence: Salade Nicoise
By Peter
Carnes
Die-hard Niçois traditionalists insist that a real Salade
Niçoise should contain only raw vegetables. No potatoes. No cooked
green beans. In fact, no cooked vegetables of any description
whatsoever!
So here it is….an authentic version of the old stand-by
for your consideration and (hopefully) delight.
Ingredients (for 4 servings):
10 large, ripe tomatoes;
1 garlic clove;
1 large cucumber;
1 green pepper;
1 red pepper;
6 spring onions;
12 anchovy fillets in olive oil;
125g black olives;
4 hard-boiled eggs;
90 ml olive oil;
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar;
the juice of 1 lemon;
assorted salad leaves;
a small handful of fresh basil.
Method:
Cut each tomato into 6 pieces. Put them into a dish and sprinkle
them with a little salt and leave them for half an hour or so to
let their juices drain.
Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the
seeds with a spoon. Then cut the (unpeeled) cucumber halves into
slices (but not too thin).
Finely slice the peppers and the spring onions.
Peel the garlic clove and cut it in half. Rub the cut halves
around the inside of a large (preferably wooden) salad bowl.
When you are ready to serve the salad, lay the salad leaves over
the base of the bowl. Drain the tomatoes and arrange them on top of
the leaves, as decoratively as you can, with the quartered
hardboiled eggs, the cucumber, the peppers, the spring onions and
the drained anchovy fillets.
Scatter over the black olives.
Make a dressing with the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon
juice, salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Sprinkle it liberally
over the salad and scatter with roughly-torn fresh basil leaves
just before taking to the table.
Variation:
4 small tuna steaks
Some people like tuna with their Salade Niçoise. It seems a pity
to spoil these lovely fresh ingredients with tinned tuna. So why
not convert the dish into a light and tasty lunch or supper by
lightly pan-frying four small fresh seasoned tuna steaks in olive
oil and serving them atop the salad on a large oval serving
dish?
Drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil at the last moment.
The article
Classic Dishes of Provence: Salade Nicoise was Submitted by Peter
Carnes through Articles.GetACoder.com
network. Here's the additional information: You can find out more
about the food, wine, restaurants and recipes of Provence at the
author's web site: http://www.cafe-de-provence.com
