Tuna Nicoise Salad Recipe

Serves 2 people as a starter

Ingredients

50g pitted Kalamata Olives

4 cherry tomatoes, both red and yellow

10 Green Beans

4 new potatoes

4 quail eggs

1 side of fresh tuna

Dill

Olive oil

Baby basil or other micro cress to serve

Rock Salt

Juice of half a lemon

 

Method

 

Slice the new potatoes in half and steam them until they are cooked all the way through, but not so much that they become too soft, rinse them with cold water until they are completely cooled, drain and set aside.

 

Trim the beans. Blanch the green beans until al dente, they should still have their entire colour and be crunchy when they are bitten. Cut each bean in half. Set aside

 

Slice the tomatoes in half and set aside.

 

Take about half a bunch of fresh dill, and place it into a blender, pour in about 100ml of olive oil and blend, you should have a green oil that is easy to pour, like a dressing. If you need to, add more oil, or dill, whichever is needed to get the consistency you would like

 

Bring a pot of water to a rapid boil, and then place the quail eggs inside, boil for 1 minute 30 seconds, then remove the eggs and place them in water that has ice in it, you want to cool the eggs as quickly as possible. To make peeling them easier, add some white vinegar to the water that they are cooling in. Peel the eggs and then cut them in half, length ways.

 

Take the tune and season it with some rock salt, and then pour over a little of the dill oil you have prepared, this is just to give it some extra flavour and colour when you fry it

 

Heat up a griddle pan with a little oil, and when the pan is really hot, add the tuna. Fry the tuna until it has the marks of the pan on it, and then do the same for the other side, You want to keep the tuna a bit pink and rare in the middle, so do not overcook it

 

Now that you have all the components of the dish ready, it’s time to plate them up.

 

Place the green beans in the centre of the plate, then place the tomatoes, olives and egg halves and potatoes around the beans, as well as a few elements on top of the beans to give the dish a bit of ‘lift’. Then take the tuna, and break it with your fingers into chunks. Drizzle the dill oil around the plate and on the ingredients, but remember dill has a very strong flavour so do not be too generous.

 

Bon Appétit