A salad with substance

By Lynn Bain

Feb 1, 2023

This month’s recipe is definitely in the ‘salad as a main meal’ category with lots of different textures and flavours, says LYNN BAIN.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

One historic version of niçoise salad included tomatoes, anchovies and olive oil.

Over the years, other ingredients were added — such as tuna, potatoes, beans, eggs and olives — to make the salad the main meal that it is today.

Just a comment on the anchovies. You can hardly taste them in the dish, however they add significant substance and body to the dressing (so don't leave them out).

Handy hint one: You can use your choice of a variety of different protein options in this recipe — from canned tuna to fresh tuna, or salmon (canned or fresh).

In this version of Tuna Niçoise Salad, I have used canned tuna in oil. I've done so just to highlight the options.

However, a lightly seared fresh tuna steak is my normal 'go to' in this salad (see Steve's butchery article on preparing fresh tuna on page 32).

One tip when using canned tuna is to remember that the oil from the tin is used in the dressing (or you can use extra virgin olive oil from the bottle if you choose tuna in spring water).

It also pays to read the ingredients label on the tuna tin. You'll see a variety of salt levels and oil types — some use a blend of oils, others use (the preferred) olive oil.

Keep all this in mind if you are targeting low salt, omega 3 and good cholesterols to provide a healthy meal — even the difference in the same type of product between different brands is interesting.

Handy hint two: You can substitute any lettuce you have to hand instead of the cos variety in this recipe. If you are using large-leafed lettuce, such as iceberg, then you may roughly shred the leaves to make the dish easier to eat with just a fork.