The Niçoise salad is such a great and versatile meal. It is hearty, light, gluten free, and a lovely combination of both complex carbohydrates and protein. Our version is a fun twist on the classic… instead of tuna, we substitute it for a slow-roasted BC salmon along with pickles, pickled beets in a Tarragon Tahini dressing. It is a bit of France meets British Columbia, and makes a great quick, salad idea, perfect for both hot and cold days.
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. skinless salmon fillet, smoked or poached
1 cup of fresh green beans – rinsed, trimmed, and blanched
2 cups of new or baby potatoes, halved
1 cup of diced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
4 large leaves of red leaf or butter lettuce
4 large eggs, hard-boiled, room temperature, halved
1 large ripe avocado, sliced
½ cup of Greenola Baby Dill Pickles, sliced
½ cup of Greenola Sliced Beets
TARAGON DRESSING:
¼ cup of sesame oil
4 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. Tahini
2 cloves of garlic, grated on a Microplane
4 Tbsp. of chopped fresh Tarragon
1 Tsp. honey
1 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tsp. kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Dressing: Combine together all ingredients and shake in a jar to emulsify.
Bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and leave to fully cool. Slice into halves.
To blanch the green beans, bring a separate saucepan of salted water to a boil. Submerge green beans into boiling water until crisp-tender, approximately 3 minutes. Drain and plunge into cold water to cool. Drain, and pat dry.
Boil eggs until hard, approximately 10 minutes. After cooking, drain the eggs and transfer them to a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Peel and halve.
TO ASSEMBLE THE SALAD:
Arrange the lettuce leaves on the bottom of a large serving plate, scatter, and layer the remaining ingredients on top, finishing with the eggs, and chunks of salmon. Drizzle with dressing over the salad and serve.
TIP:
Ready-made hot smoked salmon in the seafood department of your grocery store, is a great and delicious shortcut for this dish.