Continuing with traditional Nice food series, here is a salad known worldwide, Salade Niçoise or La Salada Nissarda. There are many versions of this salad, but the list of ingredients usually includes anchovies, slices of hard boiled eggs, steamed potatoes, and fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, shallots, red peppers and steamed green peas, all seasoned with Dijon vinaigrette.
Here is an excellent recipe:
Ingredients for 8 people
- 150 g mesclun,
- 500 g tomatoes,
- 100 g spring onion,
- 100 g small white celery hearts
- 400 g small purple artichoke,
- 160 g small green salad peppers,
- 250 g long radishes,
- 50 g black olives,
- 8 salted anchovies (i.e. 16 fillets)
- 20 g garlic,
- 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil,
- 4 eggs,
- 8 to 12 basil leaves
- Fine salt & ground pepper
- Dijon mustarde
Directions:
Wash the vegetables. Clean the radishes, keeping them whole with the tender leaves.
Put mesclun on the edges of a salad bowl previously rubbed with garlic (using a peeled clove).
Cut the tomatoes into quarters and place them on the leaves of mesclun, salt.
Thinly slice cucumber, celery and the heart the artichokes, green peppers and the spring onion. Place all vegetables on the tomatoes and add salt.
Add basil and decorate with hard eggs cut into quarters, the anchovy fillets, and the black olives.
Mix olive oil, Dijon Mustarde and ground pepper, pour and toss the salad before serving.
When serving, ensure the ingredients are distributed properly on each plate.
Recipe inspired by Cuisine Nissarde
Deborah Bellotti
International editions: