‘Always Home:’ Deconstructed Salade Niçoise with Fresh Basil Viniagrette

Fanny Singer breaks with tradition* in her recipe for Salade Niçoise. She adds crunchy lettuces, tosses much of the salad before serving and uses a dressing that is a cross between basil pesto and a chimichurri sauce. I wished I’d doubled the dressing it was so good.

And of course! One would expect no less from Ms. Singer, the daughter of Alice Waters (founder of the Slow Food movement), who is a great story teller and cook in her own right. In Always Home. she writes a loving memoir to her mother as she invites us along to hang out at Chez Panisse, travel throughout Europe with her family and friends (with a bit of namedropping), and cook the delicious recipes related to the events in each chapter. These days when many of us are "Always Home," the book is perfect for an armchair culinary adventure through the food revolution eventually known as California Cuisine.

Book available from Amazon here.

My Paleo Marin: 4 Persimmons**

Vinaigrette:

Pound 1-3 cloves of garlic (personal preference) and a pinch of salt in a mortar until pureed. Add 2 cups of chopped fresh basil leaves and a pinch of salt in the mortar. Pound into a paste.

In a mason jar, add the garlic/basil paste, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 4 teaspoons of white or red wine vinegar, and 1/2 cup of olive oil. Add lid and shake to combine (or whisk in a bowl). Set Aside.

Salad:

Cut 1 red pepper into 4 pieces and remove the seeds and stem. Char the red pepper pieces over a gas flame until the outside is blackened and the flesh is cooked through. Put in a closed container to cool and later peel with a small sharp knife. Cut into slices.

Fill a dutch oven with water 3/4 of the way. Bring to a boil and add 6-8 fresh eggs. Gently boil the eggs for 8-10 minutes. Place in an ice bath. Let cool, then peel and cut in half or slice with an egg slicer. Alternatively, use your favorite method to hardboil the eggs.

Using the same water in the dutch oven, add a pinch of salt and two large handfuls of small new white potatoes. Boil just until cooked through. Put in a bowl to cool. When ready to serve the salad, cut the potatoes in half, or leave whole (personal preference).

In the same water, add two large handfuls of haricot verts beans (thin green beans) and gently boil just until they turn bright green. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.

Drain a small jar of Niçoise or Kalamata olives. Set the olives aside.

Drain 2 cans of the best tuna you can find and break into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.

Chop 4-6 heirloom tomatoes in quarters and set aside.

Wash and dry 2 crispy heads of lettuce such as Little Gem or Romaine. Chop into bite-sized pieces.

To Assemble the Salad:

In a large shallow bowl, gently toss together the chopped lettuce, pepper slices, potatoes, beans, and tomatoes. Squeeze 1/2 a lemon over the vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Shake (or whisk) the dressing and pour about 1/2 of the dressing over the salad. Gently toss to mix. Taste.

Arrange the tuna pieces, eggs and olives on the vegetables on the plate. Drizzle more dressing on top of the eggs and tuna. Garnish the eggs with Marash Chili Flakes if more heat is desired.

The salad is best served as soon as it is dressed and assembled.

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Recipe reprinted with author’s permission from her book, Always Home available here.

*See link here for "What Side are you on in the Salade Nicoise debate? The Purists Versus Everyone Else."

**My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.