Driftwood Nicoise Salad
French salads often feel more vibrant than the lettuce-only affairs back home. Packed with tasty ingredients like lardons, fried mushrooms, grilled courgettes, sun-dried tomatoes and salty croutons, the flavours spill off your plate. My niçoise salad, inspired by a charming little beach café with driftwood tables and chairs, is no different. Traditionally it’s served with new potatoes but I like the texture of roasted Jerusalem artichokes. These are in season now! Recipe is taken from NINA St Tropez.
SERVES 2
200g Jerusalem artichokes (about 4)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 free-range medium eggs
100g green beans
20g anchovy fillets
1 round lettuce
100g cherry tomatoes,
halved 1 shallot, diced
80g black olives, stoned and roughly chopped
200g good-quality tinned tuna
sea salt and black pepper
FOR THE DRESSING
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
finely grated zest and juice of 1⁄2 unwaxed lemon
sea salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Quarter the artichokes and put them on a baking tray. Toss them in olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then roast for about 1 hour, or until so. Remove and leave to cool.
While the artichokes are roasting, bring a pan of water to a rolling boil. Carefully add the eggs and cook for 3 minutes, then add the beans and cook for a further 6 minutes. Remove the eggs, then drain the beans and leave to cool. Shell and halve the eggs and roughly chop the anchovies.
Tear the lettuce into a large bowl and add all the ingredients except the eggs and tuna. In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together and taste to check the seasoning. Toss the salad with the dressing, reserving 2 tablespoons for later.
To serve, make a mound of salad in a serving bowl, add the tuna chunks and place the egg halves on top. Drizzle over the remaining dressing. Any leftovers will be perfect in a pan bagnat: a hollowed-out French sourdough with the salad packed inside to make a sandwich.