Roasted Salad Nicoise

I should first confess that I am writing this under some duress. I thought Harris was napping, but as it turns out, I can now hear him yelling from his crib for me to "come see his trick!" I can only assume that his trick is not him laying peacefully in his bed and it actually might involve something gymnastic in nature. So I should hurry.

Anyway, to me a salad nicoise is a great entree salad because it has the rare combination of being healthy (all "good fats" - olive oil and tuna, also rich in omega threes) and is filling at the same time. If you manage to have moderate intake of bread and red wine along with it (both very French and perfect accompaniments if you ask me), you have succeeded! I have modified this salad from ones I have seen in cookbooks in a few ways. First: the tomatoes, green beans, and potatoes are roasted in salt, pepper and olive oil over a high heat to carmelize them and draw out additional flavors. In a classic or typical preparation, the potatoes and green beans are boiled or steamed and in my opinion can be a bit boring. Especially in winter, I think the smaller grape tomatoes taste better with a little high heat roasting. Next: I use good tuna packed in olive oil. This is much tastier than tuna packed in olive oil in my opinion (thank you for the tip Mom!) Finally, I also toss the greens in dressing before assembling the salad, which lets you get that good dressing onto the lettuce, which needs flavor, rather than the accompaniments, which are already well seasoned.

So I guess this salad is definitely not a "authentic" preparation, but I like these little changes. I think its actually an improvement over the very average nicoise I had at a cafe right outside the Eiffel Tower, but to be honest that wouldn't take much. Feel free to make your own additions or double the portions if you are serving to friends!

Roasted Salad Nicoise (serves 2)

1/2 medium head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

1 can tuna packed in olive oil, mostly drained of olive oil but not rinsed

10-12 grape tomatoes

Approx. 1 cup green beans

10-12 small red potatoes (halved or quartered if necessary so each potato is in approximate bite size piece)

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced in halves or quarters

nicoise or kalamata olives

optional: capers, anchovy fillets, or red onion slices

2-4 T olive oil (divided) and salt and pepper (for roasting vegetables)

Dressing:

2 T. lemon juice

4 T. olive oil

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1-2 T grated parmesan cheese (0ptional)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, toss potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper until well coated. Pour onto one end of a cookie sheet. Then toss green beans in the same bowl with olive oil and salt and pepper and place on a separate section on the same cookie sheet. Roast these vegetables in the oven for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, similarly toss grape tomatoes in the bowl with a little more olive oil and salt and pepper. When the potatoes and green beans are almost done (they will have browned with a nice crust), remove the hot cookie sheet and add the tomatoes to the cookie sheet and keep separate from the other veggies if possible. Continue to cook in the oven for just a few minutes more, until tomatoes have softened just a bit (maybe two or three minutes). If you overcook them they will burst and juice out onto the cookie sheet. When vegetables are done, set pan aside to cool.

Meanwhile, mix all dressing ingredients well in a covered jar and shake well. Toss greens with the salad dressing (you may not need all the dressing, so start by tossing greens with half and add more if necessary) and arrange the dressed lettuce on two separate plates or large shallow bowls if possible. Assemble remaining ingredients on top of the lettuce (tuna, green beans, tomatoes, olives, potatoes and eggs, and capers, anchovies or red onion if desired). Finish the salad with fresh cracked pepper and coarse sea salt and serve with a baguette. Bon appetit!