Salade sans Niçoises

Well, YOU can feel free to use real Niçoise olives in this meal, but I just happen to like Kalamatas better and have made a substitution. Hence my title…Salad Without Niçoises.

When I was a kid, my dad must have made a Salade Niçoise for dinner at least a couple times per month, hollering "à table!" to call the troops to the dining room. Always a favorite, I can't believe it's been so long since I've made one. This is a nice salad to throw together on a weeknight using canned tuna, or if you're feeling fancy you can buy sushi grade tuna steaks and do a quick sear on them. As written, my recipe makes enough for 2 large dinner portions.

Salade sans Niçoises:

2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp fresh minced tarragon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
a touch of agave nectar if you'd like
~1 Tbs olive oil

1 6oz can of tuna, drained
2 hardboiled eggs (start eggs in cold water, when it comes to a boil, cover pot, turn off flame and let sit for 11 min…you won't get grey rings around your yolks)
~1/2 lb green beans
a couple of smallish Yukon gold potatoes
as many Kalamata olives as you'd like…or if you must, Niçoise. ;-)
salad greens, enough for 2 salads (I used Romaine this time)
optional: thinly sliced red onions are always nice if you like 'em...Monster, not a fan of the raw onion.

Mix red wine vinegar through olive oil to make your dressing.
Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook green beans until crisp tender, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.Add potatoes to boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until they are easily pierced with a fork.I like to place the greens on the plate and toss with a little dressing first.
Then add the green beans to the dressing bowl and toss to coat. Add that to the center of your greens. Then same goes for the potatoes…roll in dressing bowl then arrange on the greens. Add the tuna, eggs, and olives to your salad and add any extra dressing to the top of those. Add a few more drops of olive oil on top if you care to.