Niçoise Salad With Basil and Anchovy-Lemon Vinaigrette

Updated Feb. 20, 2024

Niçoise Salad With Basil and Anchovy-Lemon Vinaigrette
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(1,322)
Comments
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Here is a riff on a classic French salade niçoise. Traditionalists drape anchovy filets across the finished salad, but here, they're minced and used only in the dressing. Anchovy admirers can certainly add more for garnish — and anchovy avoiders can simply leave them out. The only cooking is boiling the potatoes and haricots verts, which can be done together in the same pot. Add a jammy egg or two if you like. Dressing the vegetables while warm helps them absorb all the good flavors more deeply, making this a salad that manages to be intense and light at the same time.

Featured in: A Cool Niçoise Salad for Summer’s End

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1large garlic clove, minced
  • 2anchovy fillets, chopped
  • ¼teaspoon salt, more as needed
  • 2tablespoons lemon juice
  • ¾teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • ½teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • cup olive oil, more as needed
  • ¼pound baby red potatoes
  • ½pound haricots verts or green beans
  • 1tablespoon finely chopped basil
  • 8radishes, cut into wedges, or 1 slender cucumber, peeled and sliced
  • 2large, ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges, or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2(6 or 7-ounce) cans tuna packed in olive oil, drained
  • 4hard-boiled eggs (optional)
  • ½cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
  • Black pepper, for serving
  • Flaky sea salt, for serving
  • Torn basil leaves, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

472 calories; 32 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 654 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the vinaigrette: Using the flat side of a knife, smash garlic clove, anchovy fillets and salt into a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in lemon juice, zest and mustard. Using a whisk, slowly pour in olive oil while stirring constantly. Adjust seasoning as needed.

  2. Step 2

    Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover them with 2 or 3 inches of cold water. Salt the water and bring to a boil. When water comes to a boil, continue cooking potatoes until fork tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Add haricots verts during the last 1 minute of cooking (if using regular green beans, add them during the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking depending on how thin they are). Drain vegetables and let sit until cool enough to handle but still quite warm. Halve potatoes, transfer to a small bowl along with the haricots verts and dress everything to coat with some (but not all) of the vinaigrette. When completely cool, toss in chopped basil.

  3. Step 3

    On a large platter or four individual plates, arrange potatoes and haricots verts, radishes or cucumbers, tomatoes and tuna, and hard-boiled eggs, if using. Scatter olives over the top and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Serve garnished with black pepper, flaky sea salt and torn basil leaves.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,322 user ratings
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Comments

I disagree....the anchovies, garlic and basil made this a standout for a vinaigrette...maybe you didn't use enough...absolutely fantastic....chose the radishes rather than cucumber...

Nicoise is one of my favorite salads but sometimes gets dull. The anchovies perked it up and I laid the remaining ones from the can on the salad. The fresh basil leaves were a nice touch as well, but fresh basil leaves will make anything taste good., I DID think the dressing was worth the effort. Lovely summer meal.,

I had high hopes for this lemon vinaigrette with anchovies & garlic, but it's a lot of work and doesn't deliver much more punch than the plain old red wine & olive oil that I've used for decades. Back to the tried and true.

We used to make this salad ALL the time in the summer, but then we came across this phenomenon where the tunafish + tomato would produce this really unpleasant fishy flavor (tomatoes would taste fishy). I think we tried to avoid eating the tomato and the tunafish together or sequentially, but it still gave us the "ick." I did some desultory research but couldn't find anything that really explained what was going on. Curious to know if anyone knows more?

The dressing and the selection of veg made this salad the most perfect summer salad ever. Five stars for sure!

Substituted lightly steamed asparagus for the green beans. Delicious.

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