Not Quite Nicoise

It’s still very hot in Brooklyn (who says there’s no such thing as Global Warming?). This means that we are still in our ‘Salad Days’. Salad in summer is the counterpart to soup in winter. You can make something special to recipe, or simply scour the supplies on hand to invent something yourself.

A Nicoise salad is a famous main course ‘composed’ salad that has potatoes, beans, eggs, tomatoes, tuna, anchovies, capers and its namesake, Nicoise olives. All this wonderful stuff rests on lettuce lightly dressed with a lemony dressing. Sounds great, doesn’t it? (OK, you can skip the anchovies, but you are really missing something… that goes for the capers too)

That said, rather than get all worked up about making an authentic recipe, I’d like to encourage you to make a Not Quite Nicoise. Get out your biggest bowl and start with the main structure, lettuce and some sort of dressing (here’s the Dijon dressing that we learned about). Now gather anything you like (within reason, let’s not get too silly). Most pantries have a can of tuna (drain it before using), an onion (purple? peeled and sliced very thin?), a sliced hard-boiled egg, maybe some beans and potatoes. Blanch the beans the way we cooked the Edamame. A simple guide to cooking potatoes follows. Get ready to assemble the ingredients and guess what? You’ve almost got a meal! All you need to do now is text a few friends and have them to stop by the bakery to get a nice loaf of bread. Wait until they arrive, dress the lettuce just before serving and compose (yourself)!

Boiled Potatoes
(I recommend small red or yellow ones with thin skins. Try to buy spuds of a similar size)

• Wash your potatoes and cut out any ‘eyes’ (small sprouts)
• You can cook them whole or cut them in quarters or similar sized pieces
• Place potatoes in a deep pot with cold water to cover and a large pinch of salt
• Bring to a boil (large rolling bubbles)
• Cook until tender. A skewer or sharp knife will go in easily when they are done. Try not to cook them into mush.
• Drain and let cool. This can be done way in advance and can be refrigerated in a tightly covered container for up to 3 days.

Footnote: I didn’t mention peeling, because I like the skins. It’s your choice!