It is a fantastic source of healthy food. It is quite cheap (everybody has a can of tuna hiding somewhere in their cupboards). Above all, it tastes great and look at those colours (a slice of Provence on your plate!).
Since I’m French and from the South-East of France (20km from Nice to be accurate), my recipe for the Salade Nicoise had to be the original one.
Health Benefits
Tuna contains omega 3 but it is less fat than salmon and as such, is a good alternative if you’re trying to lose weight. It also contains quality proteins (essential amino acids), vitamin PP (which contributes to the health of the nervous system), iron, magnesium and calcium.
Anchovies are also rich in iron and vitamin PP.
Tomatoes contain vitamins A, C, E and potassium. When ripe, they contain beta-carotene and lycopene (an anti-oxidant which helps fight cancer and heart disease).
Eggs are extremely nutritional (containing high quality proteins with all 9 essential amino acids).
Black olives are far more nutritional than green olives. Black olives are a real Health Booster containing a large quantity of minerals (phosphorus, calcium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese).
Olive oil is well-known for being benefitial to health but to rip all the health benefits, make sure you buy a virgin or extra virgin oil obtained by mechanical means only (as opposed to heated up for extraction which destroys the nutrients).
As you can see, all these ingredients put together make for a very healthy meal indeed.
Now for the recipe:
Preparation Time:
10 minutes
Cooking Time:
8 minutes (for the hard-boiled eggs)
Serves:
6 adults
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
- 1 teaspoon of mustard
- 2 spoons of red wine vinegar
- 6 spoons of virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the salad:
- 6 tomatoes (ripe)
- 1 small green pepper
- 3 spring onions
- 2 handfull of green salad leaves (mesclun if available)
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 large tuna can (natural)
- 12 anchovy fillets
- a handfull of small black olives (from Nice if possible)
- if in season, 3 small purple artichokes
- 300 g of broad beans
- 10 basil leaves
- 1 heart of celery (optional)
- 1 small cucumber (optional)
I agree, it is a long list but you do not have to be a purist. I have to admit I don’t always use all the ingredients, I manage with what I have at hand. As long as you’ve got good tomatoes, eggs, tuna and salad leaves, you’ll get a flavour for it. If you can, add olives and anchovies for a more authentic look and taste. Then all the other ingredients if you want it to be perfect.
Preparation:
1- Hard-boil the eggs, plunge them in cold water and peel the shell
2- In a salad bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing all the sauce ingredients listed above
3- Add the ingredients in the order below without mixing them using the picture above as a presentation guide (you’ll mix the salad only at the last moment to prevent the sauce from ‘cooking’ the salad leaves). Add:
- the finely cut spring onions
- the finely cut artichokes
- the broad beans
- the celeri and cucumber finelly cut
- the green salad leaves (washed and dried)
- the tomatoes cut in quarters
- the small green pepper cut in round slices
4- Decorate with bits of tuna, the eggs cut in slices or quarters, anchovies fillets, black olives
5- Finish with the finely cut basil leaves sprinkled on top
Serve, mix and enjoy this mouth-watering slice of Provence.
