For you to appreciate the true reasoning behind this creation we need to go back a bit. 36 years to be exact. The first time my father sent me to Nice in the south of France to stay with my dear friends the son of the minister of industry for a summer vacation.  This is really about a classic manifesting itself in contemporary or better yet a different way.  

Salad Niçoise is really a French composed salad, much like our Cobb salad, but with tuna, green beans, and potatoes, instead of chicken or turkey, bacon, and avocado. Salad Niçoise comes from Nice, on the Mediterranean Sea, though like so many foods we enjoy here of French origin, has changed a bit to adapt to our tastes and or demands. the Niçoise salads are always made with raw vegetables and served with anchovies. Nicoise salads that are served in America are typically served on a bed of lettuce and include cooked green beans and potatoes. Lets get into that shall we? I think Due to the availability or lack of the correct kind of ingredients and the desire to fill the customer or the customer wanting to be filled or feel that they receiving a value the potato was added, and the Haricot vert that is amazing raw was replaced with the tough green beans that need to be cooked. Usually the Niçoise salads in France are all made with canned tuna. Depending on the establishment here, I've had them either with canned or with freshly grilled tuna. Like the Cobb salad, the Salad Nicoise takes some time to prepare, given all of the ingredients. I ask that you have a great preparation for proper and smooth production.

But I have done even more, I have done a Panini here and created a meal all in one.

So here we go and enjoy

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad

• 6 grilled tuna steaks* (4-6 oz each)
• 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut in rounds
• 6 small new red potatoes (each about 2 inches in diameter, about 1 1/4 pounds total), each potato scrubbed and cut in rounds
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound of arugula
• 3 small ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into rounds
• 1 small red onion, sliced very thin in rounds
• 8 ounces French green beans, stem ends trimmed and each bean left whole
• 1/4 cup niçoise olives pitted and chopped
• 2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and/or several anchovies (optional) chopped
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
• Six square ciabatta bread or 12 sliced Panini bread

Method

*Marinate tuna steaks in a little olive oil for an hour. Heat the grill to medium high heat, and place on the grill. Cook the steaks 2 to 3 minutes on each side or grill through to the desired temperature. Remove from the grill and drizzle with ¼ cup of the dressing and set aside.

1. Whisk lemon juice, oil, shallot, thyme, basil, oregano, and mustard in medium bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Bring potatoes and 4 quarts cold water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and cook until potatoes are tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon (do not discard boiling water). Toss warm potatoes with 1/4 cup vinaigrette; set aside.
3. While potatoes are cooking, toss the capers, the olives and the mayo and the mustard with 1/4 cup vinaigrette in a bowl and set aside. Toss tomatoes, red onion, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste in bowl;
4. Spread the caper and olive mixture evenly on six of the slices of the bread grill the bread for 1 minute on the dry side down and then Arrange hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, on the side with spread on it.  Place the tuna, top with tomatoes and onions top with arugula. Combine all remaining dressings Drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and serve immediately. Pinot Grigio Baby.

Think about me when you go to culinary heaven.