What's in Season: Salad Days
Summer arrives and all the food around us is so fresh, sensual, and flavorful. We want eat delicious things that don’t keep us chained to the stove. Like amazing salads that will have you and your gue...
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 4 Serving(s)
For the Salad
- 2 cans Italian oil-packed tuna, drained
- 5-7 waxy potatoes, peeled and boiled until fork tender
- 4 free-range eggs, refrigerator-cold
- 1 head romaine, Bibb lettuce, or arugula, leaves rinsed and patted dry
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or very thinly sliced red onion
- 2 handfuls very fresh haricots verts, scrubbed and stem ends trimmed
- 5 radishes, sliced into thin wedges
- ½ cup pitted Nicoise (or other oil-cured) olives
- 1 tablespoon salt-packed capers, rinsed
- 6 anchovies, optional
- Good olive oil
- Flake salt and freshly cracked pepper
- 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
For the Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Preparation
In a glass measuring cup or bowl, combine dressing ingredients, whisking well to combine. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan large enough to fit the eggs in a single layer, add enough water to cover them by 1 inch and bring water to a boil. Use a large spoon to carefully lower the cold eggs into the water one at a time and return to a simmer, adjusting heat as necessary. Simmer for 6 minutes for a liquid-gold yolk, 7-9 minutes for a custardy yolk. After your preferred cook time, transfer eggs with a slotted spoon to a bowl filled with ice water.
Once eggs are cool enough to handle, tap them on the counter to crack the shells all over and carefully peel them. Rinse each briefly under cold water to remove any stray shell bits and cut into quarters. (Wait to cut eggs until arranging onto the platter if you chose to make the 6-minute yolks.)
Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice into bite-side wedges. Stack the haricots verts and slice them into bite-sized pieces on a sharp diagonal.
On a serving platter, arrange salad leaves to cover. Stack the quartered eggs, haricots verts, radish wedges, olives, lemon wheels, and boiled potatoes into piles or rows alongside the chunks of tuna, drained of their oil (reserve for extra dressing as needed). Scatter shaved red onion or chives and capers on top and add anchovies, if using - either piled in the center, or laid over the other elements. Spoon dressing over all and serve immediately.
Optional add-ins & swaps:
• Cooked artichoke hearts
• Blanched asparagus
• Cherry tomatoes or tomato wedges
• Marinated beets
Timesavers:
The vinaigrette, potatoes, and eggs can be prepared 2 days in advance. And, when thin green beans such as haricots verts are very fresh, they do not need to be cooked. Leaving them raw adds more crunchy nuance to the salad and saves on prep time.
More Summer Salads from Melina Hammer
Panzanella
This classic Italian bread and tomato salad is fresh and summery, and hearty enough to serve as a meal.
Simple Summer Poke
In this preparation, the roe is visually dazzling but ultimately blends into the overall experience. If you are squeamish about roe, take this as comfort. If, on the other hand, it is hard to procure ...
