Nicoise Salad at Home

It is about time I made Nicoise Salad with seared Ahi Tuna. I always get it in the restaurants so why not make it at home? Two weekends in a row I have been doing just that. The salad is very easy to make however it takes some time to prepare all the ingredients. The recipe for two people is below.



Ingredients:

3/4 lb of fresh Ahi tuna
6-7 fingerling potatoes, peeled and cooked
10-12 green beans, blanched
10 green/black olives
2 hard boiled eggs, cut in half
5 cherry or plum tomatoes, cut in half
Olive Oil for cooking
Salt and Pepper

For dressing:
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/2 of small shallot, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
1 sprig of fresh thyme, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Salt and Pepper to taste. Set aside.

2. Rinse Ahi Tuna with cold water and pat dry. I cut my piece into two pieces. Salt and pepper generously on both sides. Pour 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil in a pan and on medium high heat sear tuna on both sides for about 1-2 minutes a side (depends on how rare you want your fish to be). Transfer cooked tuna on a cutting board and slice it into 1/2 inch pieces.

3. Now it is time to assemble the salad on a plate. On each plate arrange eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, olives and tuna. Drizzle with a dressing. Salt and Pepper if needed. You can also add other ingredients such as cucumber, radishes, beats, asparagus and so on.