The idea of a nicoise salad has never appealed to me. Primarily because of the oil-packed tuna element. I can tolerate tuna on toasted sourdough, but beyond that, the concept of canned fish makes me squirm. The other parts of a classic nicoise, I like, though I wouldn’t normally pair them together for a casual lunch dish: steamed potatoes, runny eggs, blanced green beans, and some form of grain. Each a lovely idea, but not all together.
However, since I had made Alison’s Spiced Lentils the day before, and I’d prefer not to make them twice, I chose to save them for this salad. Call it Lentil Maximization. (To learn more about these lentils, and for the final installation of Annie’s Lentil Storytime, click here.
I had lots of green beans, potatoes, and eggs on hand this day, so I made two servings of the salad, one for me and one for Jordan. We were both working from home. It took me approximately 20 minutes to make the meal, which was just enough time between two meetings to whip something up. (If I hadn’t already prepped the lentils, it would have taken much longer.)
To maximize the pot of boiling water on my stove, I chose to boil the potatoes, blanch the green beans, and cook the eggs all at the same time. I just took them out at different intervals. Any chance I get to do less dishes, I’ll take it. Especially at lunchtime. I’m much more willing to take on dinner dishes than I am lunch dishes. It’s a principle of mine.
I was most worried about the tuna tasting too fishy, but was pleasantly surprised by the Trader Joe’s brand of oil-packed tuna. Though I still can’t say I enjoyed the tuna (because it’s tuna), I can say that I wasn’t fished out when eating it, which is a win.
Jordan enjoyed the salad. I’d say I mostly did too -- I’m a sucker for vegetables tossed in lemon juice, salt and pepper. I personally won’t make this particular salad again, but I wholeheartedly recommend making it if you’re a fan of nicoise salads. If nicoise is what you seek, then a fresh, lemony, herbal and light nicoise is what you’ll find here.
154 recipes cooked, 71 to go.
