Nicoise Specialty

Ingredients

For The Salad

• 3 to 4 medium tomatoes, sliced into wedges
• 4 ounces soft salad greens (like Bibb, Butter or Boston lettuce)
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced
• ½ cup pitted black olives, Niçoise olives or other black olives
• 1 cup quartered canned artichoke hearts, drained
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
• 1 (5-ounce) can quality tuna packed in oil, drained and flaked
• 4 green onions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 10 basil leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Salt the tomatoes. Put the tomato wedges in a large colander and place the colander over a bowl. Season the tomatoes with a generous pinch of kosher salt, toss, and set aside for 10 minutes while you prepare your ingredients. Do not discard the tomatoes’ juices, we’ll use it to make the dressing.
2. Arrange the salad. Spread the lettuce on a platter. Top with the sliced radishes, cucumber, olives, artichoke hearts, eggs, and drained tomatoes. You can do this as a composed salad, keeping like things together, or you can spread the toppings evenly across the platter. Sprinkle on chunks of tuna, green onions, and torn basil leaves all over. Season with black pepper.
3. Make the dressing. In the same bowl with the juices from your tomatoes, add the red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and a pinch of salt. Whisk to combine. While you are whisking, pour in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Taste and adjust salt to your liking.
4. Serve. Serve immediately, or wrap the salad in plastic and store in your fridge until you’re ready. Pour a bit of the dressing over the salad and toss very gently, or serve with the dressing on the side and allow everyone to help themselves.