Simple Nicoise Salad -

This recipe was originally going to have chicken in it, to make it different from a traditional Nicoise salad.

But alas, the forgetful grocery shopper strikes again.

It doesn’t matter how detailed my list is when I go to the supermarket—I will always forget something. I’m usually able to get my husband to pick it up for me the next morning, but sometimes he can’t. That means improvising in my kitchen is a common occurence.

Classic Nicoise salad is served with tuna, and that’s exactly what I had in the pantry. It’s also exactly where the similarities between the classic salad and this version stop. I didn’t use olives, or capers, or tomatoes or potatoes. I went with a few simple ingredients and an easy lemon dressing to get this salad recipe.

I enjoyed every bite of this salad. Big-ingredient-list salads are my favorite; it’s like you never know what the next bite will taste like. I love blanched green beans in a salad, too. It’s a good way to get a crisp ingredient involved, and one that’s super fresh as well.

My Nicoise salad comes complete with some red pepper strips and hard-boiled eggs. I thought about adding some more things to it, but decided to keep it simple. Sometimes simplicity is just what the doctor ordered.

Enjoy!

Simple Nicoise Salad

Servings: 4-6
Time: 15 mins
Difficulty: Easy
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A simple yet elegant salad with tuna, green beans and red peppers and a lemon-mustard vinaigrette.

Ingredients

For the salad:

2 cans tuna, drained
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
12 oz. haricot vert green beans
4 cups spring mix salad greens

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Directions

Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Add green beans and boil for 2-3 minutes, untik crisp-tender. Drain and let cool.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Set aside.
Make the salad: top a bowl of spring mix with a scoop of tuna, some red pepper strips, hard-boiled eggs, and green beans. Drizzle vinaigrette over the top.