Salmon Niçoise Salad

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Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/Nut-Free

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 30-40 minutes

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes (15-20 minutes for the veggies and about 10 minutes for the salmon)

Equipment Needed:

• Cutting board

• Chef's knife

• 1/2 pint mason jar with leak-proof lid OR small mixing bowl and small whisk

• 12-inch nonstick skillet

• Flexible Spatula

• Large saucepan

• Spider strainer

• Tongs

The Recipe:

This recipe was adapted from recipes by America's Test Kitchen and Samin Nosrat.

Ingredients:

For the red wine vinaigrette:

• 1 tablespoon minced shallot

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• Kosher salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

• 2 salmon filets, 5-7 ounces each

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 1 pound small red potatoes, cut in half (if using potatoes that are larger than about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, you may want to cut those into fourths)

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

• 8-10 ounces green beans, trimmed

• Approximately 10 ounces (10 cups) of greens of your choice (I used microgreens and spinach)

• 2-4 hard-cooked eggs, cut in half or quarters

• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut in half

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Procedure:

1. Make the red wine vinaigrette: In a mason jar or small bowl, add the minced shallot and red wine vinegar; stir to combine. Let this sit for about 15 minutes so the shallots can macerate (fancy way of saying mellow out a bit). Add the olive oil, a hefty pinch of kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Use a leaf from the greens you intend to use in your salad to dip into the dressing and taste; adjust salt and pepper as you see fit. Set vinaigrette aside until you are ready to dress and serve your salad.

2. Cook the salmon: Pat your salmon filets dry and generously coat with salt and pepper. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil; swirl pan to coat. Add salmon filets (skin-side down, if your filets are skin-on) and allow to cook, undisturbed, for 5 minutes. Flip salmon filets and cook an additional 4 minutes or until they are cooked to your desired degree of doneness (salmon should flake easily with a fork). Transfer salmon to a plate and set aside.

3. Cook the potatoes and green beans: Bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the halved potatoes and 1-2 tablespoons kosher salt, and return to a boil. Cook potatoes for 10 minutes. Add green beans and continue cooking until both vegetables are tender, about 4 more minutes (check potatoes by retrieving one and sliding a paring knife through the center; it should not meet any resistance). Drain the vegetables well and set aside to cool slightly.

4. Add your greens to a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of your red wine vinaigrette (whisk or shake to recombine dressing before adding) to your greens, and use tongs to thoroughly toss and coat the greens with dressing. If they still seem dry, add more dressing 1 tablespoon at a time. It's key to not over-dress a salad or the greens will become soggy and wilty (and also sad).

5. Once the greens are adequately dressed, transfer them to a serving dish or platter.

6. Use a fork to pull your cooked salmon apart into flakes/chunks.

7. Arrange the cooked potatoes, green beans, hard-cooked eggs, cherry tomato halves, flaked salmon, and kalamata olives attractively over your dressed greens. Drizzle about another 1/4 cup of the red wine vinaigrette over the top of your salad. If you have extra dressing, pass it at the table for anyone who feels like they need a bit more.

To Serve: I think a nice loaf of crusty French bread with a little olive oil on the side for dipping is always a nice accompaniment to a dinner salad, but truthfully this salad has so much going on it probably doesn't need anything on the side besides a dry glass of white.

Adjusting for your diet: If you wanted to make a version of this salad and you are a vegetarian or vegan, you could try substituting some marinated/pan-fried tofu for the salmon, or even a completely different protein such as black beans. I actually think you could leave protein off this salad all together as well, since it is decently hearty with the potatoes :)

Tips:

• I used skin-on, Sockeye salmon filets for my salad, but skinless filets would work perfectly fine as well. A contemporary Salad Niçoise uses tuna as the protein, so you could even sub canned tuna in a pinch, although I love the elevation of using salmon. Cold, smoked salmon would also be a terrific substitute (and cut out the step of having to cook the salmon).

• I used microgreens and spinach simply because I had them growing on the deck. When I have made this salad in the past, I used a spring mix or a 50/50 spinach and spring mix.

• If you don't have a shallot on hand but you do have a red onion, you could substitute finely minced red onion for the shallot in the vinaigrette.

• When the vegetables are ready to remove from the pot, you could use a spider strainer/large slotted spoon for this task if you have one; if not you could carefully pour them into a colander set in your sink.

• I mentioned paying attention to the size of your potatoes in the recipe; the biggest takeaway here should be that you want all of your potatoes to be roughly the same size so they all finish cooking at the same time.

• I served my salad in a large pasta bowl, partially because I knew I was the only one in my family who would eat every element :) this allowed me to use a tongs and pick out the parts people wanted, and put them on their plates. However, you could also plate salads individually for each person; this would probably be a little more impressive if you were having a few people over for dinner.

• There are a few moving parts to this recipe, but you can easily multi-task as you go. I got the dressing going first, then while my shallots were macerating I completed my mise en place (fancy/French phrase for prep steps) of scrubbing/halving my potatoes, trimming my green beans, and halving my eggs and tomatoes. The olives I bought were already halved, so that saved me a step as well. I got the water going for the vegetables and finished up my vinaigrette while my salmon cooked.

Tasting my dressing for seasoning using a spinach leaf.

The Story:

A Niçoise (pronounced nee-swaaz) is one of those salads that you will see renditions of on many a restaurant menu (or Pinterest board). Everyone likes to put their own spin on this well-known salad of French origin. Most versions I have seen follow a similar template: greens, a couple of cooked vegetables (usually potatoes and something green like asparagus or green beans), olives, hard-cooked eggs, tomatoes, and some type of fish. I've seen versions that include other elements such as raw red onions or capers, too. I generally see these with some type of vinaigrette, but have seen creamy dressings used as well. One thing I love about cooking and tinkering with recipes is that no one ever seems to mind this sharing-of-ideas (in my experience); taking something that already exists and make it your own.

The history of Salad Niçoise is no different! The very first Niçoise is said to have been created in the city of Nice, which is in the south of France. It was simply made of tomatoes, anchovies, olive oil, and olives. The more contemporary version of this recipe that includes tuna and cooked vegetables was developed by a famous Parisian chef, Auguste Escoffier. He published his version of the Niçoise in his cookbook Guide Cullinaire, which was published in 1903 (the version I've linked here is the first edition of the English translation, published in 1979). Apparently some "purists" in Nice weren't super happy about it :) but I sure am!

I love the color of kalamata olives!

Another similarity I have noticed about most versions of Niçoise that I have seen is that the presentation is usually similar; each ingredient is neatly separated on top of the greens, unlike a lot of other salads where everything is mixed together. I think this really gives your presentation a wow-factor since there are so many beautiful colors; it also makes it easy for people to pick out what they want as I mentioned in my tips :) if you're a How I Met Your Mother fan, you're familiar with the "olive theory" by Ted Mosby: in a successful couple, one person likes olives and the other doesn't. I am the olive person in our marriage! But I do always try to put them on the side because my husband doesn't care for them.

I do a very generous coat of kosher salt and pepper on my salmon filets.

Although I do love tuna, I thought salmon would lend great color and flavor to my salad. I've tinkered with salmon-cooking methods for years; this method is the one I always go back to because it's exceedingly easy and yields salmon with a beautiful, thin crust on top and deliciously juicy interior.

A Salad Niçoise is one of those dishes that I find to be incredibly romantic; as beautiful as it is delicious and balanced. An intricate dance of different textures, colors, flavors, and temperatures. Make it your own, take or leave the ingredients I've suggested and add something else you think should be there. Take your time enjoying this one :)

Happy tasting!