My friend Barbara in Belfast – been on my case for a couple of years now, to do a cookery book – because of my recipes … she has always been on about this dressing to my tuna salad … so here it’s, but it became a blog instead of a cookery book. Sorry, Barbara!
I posted this salad recipe first time in January 2012, but then I didn’t have any photos of my own to go with it and also I have altered the recipe a bit – I have change how I use the dressing – I coat the vegetables over heat, becuase that makes the vegetables to soak up the dressing much better when they are warm. And no dressing soaking lettuce on the plate, which I hate.
And as you can see did I had loads of summer sunshine in my plate too, so here we go …. AGAIN!!!!!
Pan Grilled Tuna on Warm New Potato and Vegetable Salad, serves 4
4 x 110 gr tuna steaks – pan grilled
12 plum cherry tomatoes, halved lengthways
4 boilded, 9 min – perfect egg should be like a daffodil
200 gr green beans; whole and blanched (used frozen)
300 gr mixed lettuce – washed; gem, baby spinach, water cress & romaine
200 gr red onion; finely sliced in rings
12 radishes, sliced
24 good quality black olives
Dressing; can be served warm or cold
150 ml olive oil
1 crushed garlic clove
2 limes or 1 lemon, juice
50 ml water
30 ml (2tblsp) sugar
10 ml (1dsp) mixed Italian herbs
30 ml (2 tblsp) chopped fresh parsley – added just before serving
Preperation: Start with the dressing – just mix everything together and mix well …. except the chopped parsley
- Boil the potatoes with skin on in salted water, when cold cut into bite size. Trim and boil the beans whole, for about 6-8 min, have to be al dente. Drain and refresh under running cold water – to keep color.
- Egg – to be boiled in 9 min .. use to say they should be like daffodil; little darker yellow and a bit soft in the middle. There is nothing worst then over cooked egg on a freshly made salad. Half them before serving.
- Radishes, sliced
- Tomatos cut in half
- Red onion, slice to thin rings
- Tuna steaks – seared in a grill pan
- Put all the cut vegetables – except the radishes – back in a pan on heat and add 3/4 of the dressing and coat the vegeables well with dressing.
- Base 4 indv. bowls with the lettuce mix – divide the olives, sliced radishes and the warm dressing coated vegeatbles – top with the tuna pieces and finish of with 2 egg halves per portion and drizzle the remaining dressing over the egg halves.
Of course my salad is based on the famous Salad Niçoise, but I don’t like anchovies.
In France you don’t get neither the radishes or the peppers – something I have added along the way during all the years I been doing this salad.
I love it both with fresh tuna or with canned – doesn’t really matter, a fantastic salad what ever been used. Of course a lot of the flavors is down to the dressing.
One of the reasons why I love this salad is because I connected it with my visits to Nice, France. And of course I had my best ever Salad Niçoise in Nice harbor at a little restaurant by name “Le Goelette”, just a little basic restaurant –nothing fancy at all – but their Salad Niçoise is worth writing to home about. Also worth the walk from Promenade Anglaise for.
And another reason is all the colors in the salad.
The worst salad I had was in Barcelona on some fancy restaurant in the Port Olympic, “La Fitora”. It costed an arm and a leg – and they served me canned tuna and black olives only on limp lettuce.
“Boy, those French! They have a different word for everything.”
Steve Martin
If course my music cloud have to be French – “Ne me quitte pas” (English: “Don’t leave me”) is a 1959 French song by the Belgian singer-songwriter, Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. One of my favorite French songs ever – it claims that it’s Édith Piaf that sings here, but I know Édith’s voice and I’m also a big fan of Mireille Mathieu, so I’m 100% sure it’s Mireille that sings on this track. I don’t think Édith recorded this song, even if she sang it.
“Ne me quitte pas.
Il faut oublier.
Tout peut s’oublier
Qui s’enfuit deja.
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
A savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
A coups de pourquoi
Le coeur du bonheur.
Ne me quitte pas.”
***********
“Don’t leave me
We must forget
All can be forgotten
Which is already fleeing away
To forget the times
Of misunderstanding
And the lost times
To know how
To forget those hours
Which sometimes killed
With blows of “Why?”
The heart of happiness
Don’t leave me”
Wow … can’t believe that I have got response on my blogg and “likes”. Thank you so much. I’m chef .. even excutive chef and a very good one, but I don’t want the blogg to only about food, becuase my life has been a lot more then about pots and pans.
You support means so much to me!
You’re not just an amazing chef; you are extremely a nice person = ) ur a blessing to me.
Thank you so much, Aina … can see that you have moved all your stuff … had to delete all the email – my inbox nearly blow up *smile – you’re a fantastic person too and I hope that this move you know made will solve your problem.
Pretty colors there.
Thank you so much … I love the colors this salad creates too.
This is a dish I will love!!!! 😉
Okay … it will go on the menu too then. *smile
I love tuna! And I am sure your tuna will be my favorite tuna. 😉
Your photos are so colourful, Viveka. This sounds really good. You should definitely think about doing a cookery book. I would buy it. 🙂
You’re such fantastic support … thank you so much.
It costly to make a cookery book, with all the food stylists .. and photographer with studio.
But I have a title for my cookery book – I’m not famous, but I can cook. *smile
You will get the first copy .. promise.
This is a brilliant salad – please, give it a try.
Salad Nicoise is one of my absolute favorites even with the anchovies, so your variation is most appealing made even better by the richness of color.
Lulu, thank you so much …. I love the Swedish anchovies – but they are totally different … sweet pickled … I don’t like anchovies in Caesar Salad neither – but I use them in the dressing.
Is there something I’m truly good at .. is to make salads and dessert, as a chef .. my favorite dish, probably because I eat them with a passion too.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and visit.
I’m glad that your friend’s idea for a cookbook spurred you on to creating a blog.. because of that we get to have visits here.. and see lovely recipes like this one. This would be perfect for today, the sun is shining and the weather is warm.. finally!
Thanks a million, Barbara …. I wish my day had sunshine too – like last evening when I had this salad, even if the rain had been pouring down the whole day .. the sun manage to get my evening warm and sunny.
Today overcast .. maybe I can get some sun into my plate of fish cakes this evening too.
YUM! One of my favorite dishes!!! Best ever was in Portland Oregon last year–I can still taste it! Gorgeous photos Viveka!
This looks so delicious! And, it is definitely Mathieu singing. Definitely not Piaf anyway – I know and love their voices too.
In our paper today, Norra Skåne, was an article about Stena Voyager and the selling of her (his) “intestines” and all. I thought I would tell you. There were only a few lines, but, anyway.
I know .. they wrote about the auction in Ystad Allehanda too – I have done a post about my last visit on board … but I haven’t felt for publishing – will happen soon and I made it to the front page of the local paper too. *smile
This salad is so good, trust me. *smile
Yes, I have Mathieu’s version on Itune .. and it’s her.
Yummy! Viveka, you make me terribly hungry! 🙂 This looks sooooo good! xo 🙂
Guess … it’s sooooo good too *laughing
This is just beautiful! You are a food artist, for certain! The song is lovely as well! ♥
Thank you so much …. I have been working a couple of times with food stylists – and picked up some trick, but my camera is just a little compact, but still does a pretty good job. Yes, it’s a fantastic song.
You are awesome!
Thanks … love to have you in one of my corners.
I think you are pretty awesome too *smile
♥
Love, love, love the song, Viveka.
Not long since eaten my Sunday dinner so not a good time to read recipes, but it looks delicious. No, I’ve never got along with anchovies either. 🙂
Terrible things, those anchovies …. so salty !!!! But I need them for my Caesar dressing .. only time I use them.
My Sunday dinner is coming up … fish cakes with spinach potato mash and green peas .. with a caviar cold sauce. Start to get hungry .. haven’t eaten since breakfast – too busy catching up on blogs. *smile
Sounds good. Enjoy! 🙂 I’ll join you in a glass of wine later when I’ve finished my chores.
Fantastic … I would love great company and a good glass of wine. Looking forward to it. *smile
If you do create a cookbook, you must add all the wonderful stories and music that goes with it. I LOVE, LOVE your blog! 🙂
You are such a darling … wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could create a cookery book with music – I just love that thought.
You could plug it into your computer. Or do a cookbook podcast with musical background! 🙂
Now you are getting too techincal for little me … I don’t even have a smartphone, my mobile just rings – don’t like smartphones, ipods or ipads. I like the idea of doing a cookery book with music. For me music is so important to feeling good.
haha it’s just silly technical. 🙂
Looks wonderful Viveka – please do a recipe book, pretty please!
Are you sponsoring me ???? it costs so much to do .. with everything … it’s not only the recipes. But thanks for the support. I think … a recipe now and then here is more than the world can bear. *smile
Perhaps instead of a cookery book you could do a cookery blog, one dedicated to it.
That was meant .. like that … but there is so many food bloggers around .. I will be bored to death if all I can right about is food .. and more food.
No I want to be all over the place …
I meant start a separate one, so you have two, one for the food, and one for everything else. You photograph the stuff beautifully so it will be visually appealing, have you see how bad the photography is on some of those. I think a food blog for you would be great, just post once a week, or thereabouts. Just an idea. 🙂
Leanne … I have been thinking about that too … but it means I have to cook all those dishes .. and only me eating it. Maybe I should do a food blog for lonely diners like me .. like that idea.
Need to give it a bit of thinking … now you got my cells moving. *smile
So beautiful… seems so delicious too… My eyes, my heart and my ears has been feeded with your beautiful post, Thank you dear Viveka, How much I love Jacques Brel, and sure MM and EP too… They are great musicians and never will be forgotten. Thank you for this too, Love you, have a nice week, nia
Thank you, Nia …. all my pleasure! Thanks for visiting too.
Your photos make my mouth water! The Salad Niçoise I had in Nice had a runny egg which I don’t enjoy, and I don’t like anchovies either. This sounds perfect 🙂
Would it be feasible to publish a small booklet with a few of your favourite recipes accompanied by glossy images?
Thanks, Madhu … somebody suggested that I should do another blog … with maybe one post per week – with my recipes. First I wasn’t that keen on the idea .. because there is so many food blogs – but then I started to play around with the thoughts about doing a food blog for people like me … that are lonely diners.
Recipes for one or 2 .. maybe even 4 .. but that is easy to be divided into one portion.
I’m not famous enough to sell any cookery books or booklets. Far too many cookery books around too. *laughing.
Like a “deconstructed” niçoise. Gorgeous. xx
Thanks, Wendy … I was quite pleased myself – was lucky with the photos and the new way of making it. It’s a great salad.
Oh my goodness… just look at that grilled tuna. My mouth is completely in drool mood right now. And the salad accompanying the meal is amazing
Thank you so much … Kay. It’s a salad that make me drool too. Just love the combinations of the flavors and the colors – the dressing is the big thing in this dish.
I think doing your own cookbook would be fabulous and your very special gift to the world!
Patricia … only the thought makes me weak – there is so many out there already.
Maybe I start a second blog .. with food with music only. *smile