Friday, March 10, 2017

"Norcal" Nicoise Salad – Layered for Your Pleasure

I know I’ve made fun of salads served in Mason jars before, but when I was asked to contribute a layered Nicoise to an Allrecipes Easter feature, I immediately thought of this tragically hip presentation. Also, I didn’t have a straight-sided, see-through glass bowl to do the layered salad in.

I love a good Nicoise, and it’s perfect for layering, especially if you slice/chop up the ingredients first. Not only will your layers be easier to keep straight, but chopped salads are always a pleasure to toss with dressing. Speaking of which, I really enjoyed this avocado spiked French-style vinaigrette, and it paired perfectly with the rich, fatty, olive oil-packed tuna. 

Look for something from Spain or Italy, and you will be impressed with how much nicer it is than the stuff Charlie and his buddies are pushing. So, whether you composed this on a plate, in the classic fashion, or follow my lead, and create the world’s trendiest Nicoise, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for Nicoise (amounts are up to you)
3-4 ounces per person olive-oil packed tuna
tender green beans
Yukon gold potatoes
cherry tomatoes
hard boiled eggs
Nicoise olives, or other pitted olives
parsley and/or chives
anchovy fillets, optional

Ingredients for the dressing:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 anchovy fillets
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup ripe avocado
1/3 cup olive oil, or more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
pinch cayenne
water as needed to adjust texture
salt to taste

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Norcal stands for? NORth CALifornia ?
Never expected you to go the hip and trendy route :P:P

Unknown said...

WOW ! That looks so tasty.

Unknown said...

Looks delicious! About how long do you think this would last if prepped ahead of time? Thinking of making this to take to work during the week.

puttermuch said...

My all time favorite salad......thanks Chef. I've made a few mason jar salads and they've been pretty good. This one looks amazing!

Testtesttest said...

Arghhh !!!! Chef John !!!!!! What have you done !!!!!! NEVER EVER put cooked vegetables in a Niçoise !!!! Je suis vraiment choque... !!!!! Arghhh !!!! I am a French fan (not a French fries...) of your videos but là.... crime de lese majesté....

The real niçoise : only RAW vegetables : mesclun, tomates, ail (yes ! 1 glove of garlic !!), poivron, fenouil, cebettes (fresh oignons), radis, céleri, fevettes (small fèves), œufs, thon, anchois, basilic, olives (petites noires de Nice - small black from Nice...), olive oil, salt and pepper and.... but just for you, a pinch of cayenne....

Keep on going I love your videos !!!

Kurt1 said...

I was browsing for your sandefjordsmor recipe and because the blogspot search engine is... uh not so good.... i used google. For some reason instead of your excellent blog I found someone who seems to plagiarize your blogposts to the letter including your inspiring videos with the sound removed. Thought I let you know in case you want to report that.
http://recipeuk.blogspot.co.at/2017/03/norwegian-butter-sauce.html

Thanks for your amazing videos and delicious recipes!

Unknown said...

Thanks, Chef;
Made for dinner tonight, subbed in quail eggs instead of chicken, didn't have white wine vinegar so pickling vinegar (diluted), anchovy paste (cuz the tube lasts longer in my fridge). Came out great!!

Unknown said...

WOW! I can't wait to try this! Tuff finding olive oil packed tuna here, but I'll just make more of the olive oil poached tuna from your recipe. Looks amazing! Thanks for keeping me cooking-inspired!

Unknown said...

The 70's, ohhh... such a fun time in S.F.
Thanks Chef.

Unknown said...

what ?

Meghan Chapman said...

Tweezecoise... If you weren't my hero before you said that, you definitely are now!

Nise said...

The salad looks delicious. And you're right about the tuna: I made a Nicoise salad a few years ago and bought Italian tuna in olive oil and I never bought regular tuna again.

ericrules42 said...

Made it tonight for four friends. A total hit! Thanx again for all your inspiration Chef!!

Unknown said...

Just got some "ekstra kisses from the misses".
She loved this nice and goodlooking salad.

Unknown said...

Delicious! Hands down one of the best things I've made this summer. Didn't change anything.