Niçoise salad is one of my favorite dinner salads. I just love the combination of flavors and textures. I just had to come up with a way for my kids to start eating it so this salad could become a regular weekday family meal. Well, I am here to tell you I’ve got it! I am sharing my family friendly Niçoise salad with you!
Niçoise salad originated in the French city of Nice. It is traditionally made of tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, olives, anchovies, dressed with olive oil and tuna may be added to it. Green beans and potatoes are common in this hearty salad, but traditionalists would disagree though. My family friendly version is based on it, but I twisted it here and there so my kids would eat it and it would become a full meal. And without further ado, may I present to you my kid friendly, deconstructed Niçoise salad:
I don’t know about your kids, but mine don’t like it when different foods (all of which they like individually) are tossed and mixed together. So I have started serving it in individual bowls and platters. This way they can compose their own salad and I can still have mine pretty like this:
Before I get into the making of this healthy dinner salad, I need to tell you that I have added a few ingredients that are not traditional, but they amp it up and make it dinner worthy.
How to make this family friendly Niçoise salad?
marinate tuna
Start by marinating freshly caught tuna in a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper. You can opt to use canned tuna and skip this step, but in my opinion fresh tuna is what makes this Niçoise salad absolutely irresistible!
blanch green beans
To keep the green beans crunchy and vibrant you should only blanch your green beans for a short time. Drain and quickly rinse them before you set them aside until assembling your Niçoise salad (or put them on a plate if you go for the deconstructed salad).
boil potatoes
This hearty, healthy dinner salad contains potatoes. To prepare the potatoes boil them for about 10-15 minutes or until soft enough a fork enters easily. There is no need to peel the potatoes. Once they are boiled, rinse them quickly and let them cool off a bit. I use small potatoes so I only have to cut them in half. Sprinkle them with some sea salt and set the aside until you are ready to assemble your dinner salad (or put them in a serving bowl if you go for the deconstructed salad).
boil eggs
Boil a few eggs. I like mine somewhere between hard and soft (definitely not too runny). Peel the eggs, cut them in half and set them aside until you go and assemble your veggie salad (or put them on a plate if you go for the deconstructed salad).
prepare lentils
Heat up some avocado oil in a medium size pot and add onion and garlic to it. When the onion is translucent, add lentils and spices. Give it a quick stir. Now add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the lentils for about 20-25 minutes or until the lentils are tender, but certainly not mushy. Set aside until you assemble your salad (or put them on a plate if you go for the deconstructed salad).
red onion
Cut a small red onion into strips. It gives a bit of a kick to the salad. It is optional though; not everyone likes raw onions.
prepare tuna
Heat up a skillet and add a tablespoon of avocado oil. Take the tuna out of the marinate. Sear the tuna quickly. You want the outside to be crunchy with a bit of color, but the inside should still be rare and pink (in my opinion).
making the dressing
Make the dressing for this Niçoise salad by adding olive oil, balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper, basil and 1/4 tsp of mustard to a shaker. Shake well and transfer to a serving bowl.
olives, basil leaves and anchovies
Set out some olives and basil leaves in small bowls or on platters (or mix them in your salad if you are going for that version). I haven’t included anchovies just because I don’t really enjoy them that much, but you definitely can add some. This way you are keeping your Niçoise salad more traditional.
serving your salad
Serve everything in separate bowls, plates and platters, like you can see below here or make a vibrant pretty salad by combining everything. I always serve the dressing on the side so everyone can decide theirselves how much they want to add to their salad.
And that’s it! Your (deconstructed) Niçoise salad is ready!
We all now love this salad here in this household! I hope you and your family will too. This Niçoise salad is
vibrant – full of flavor and textures – wholesome – nutritious – adjustable – & very delicious
This dinner salad is a big hit in our family, because everyone gets to compose their own dinner, just like our ‘roll-your-own-taco-tuesday’ and Mediterranean night. Our family favorite is still oven roasted tomato sauce over whole wheat spaghetti, but this family friendly Niçoise salad ranks definitely in the top 5!
Need more salad inspiration? What about this broccoli salad, Gado gado veggie salad with peanut dressing, peach caprese salad or my wild rice, roasted sweet potato and kale salad.
Family friendly Niçoise salad
Ingredients
Lentils
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup lentils (I used red lentils, but other types of lentils work just as well)
- ½ ltr vegetable broth (use homemade* or store bought. You can even just use water and use extra salt to season)
Tuna marinate
- 1½ lbs freshly caught tuna filet
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
Marinated tomatoes/ dressing
- 1 cup tomatoes (cut in 4 or 8. Or use cherry tomatoes and cut them in half)
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp mustard (any will do, I used grained Dijon mustard)
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- 1 small red onion (in thin wedges)
- 1 lbs green beans (ends trimmed and cut in half if too long)
- 4 small organic eggs (boiled, peeled, cut in half)
- 6 small/baby potatoes (boiled, unpeeled, cut in half)
- ¼ cup green olives (use whatever type of olive you prefer)
- 1 handful basil leaves
- 1 handful greens (like kale or arugula) (optional)
- 4 anchovy fillets (optional)
Instructions
Lentils
- Start by preparing the lentils. They will take the longest. Heat up olive oil in a medium pot and add onion and garlic. Once the onion is translucent add the lentils and the spices. Give it a quick stir. Now add the broth and bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it; make sure there is still enough liquid in the pot for the lentils not to burn)
Marinate tuna
- Marinate the tuna. Place the tuna filet in a medium size mixing bowl and add marinate ingredients. Cover and set aside.
Marinate tomatoes
- Marinate the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a medium size mixing bowl and add marinate ingredients except for the mustard. Cover and set aside.
Prepare everything for the salad
- While the lentils are cooking, the tomatoes and tuna are marinating:– blanch the green beans. Boil water in a stock pot, add the green beans for just a few minutes, drain, rinse and set aside. A quick blanch will keep the green beans crunchy.– Boil the potatoes, drain them, let them cool a little bit (otherwise you will burn your fingers cutting them) and cut them lengthwise. Sprinkle with some sea salt and set them aside.– Boil the eggs, drain, rinse in ice cold water (this will allow you to peel them more easily), peel and cut them lenghtwise. Sprinkle with some sea salt and set them aside.– Bring out the red onion wedges, olives and basil leaves. This way you have everything ready to assemble your salad the moment the tuna is ready.
Prepare the tuna
- To prepare the tuna, heat up a skillet and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Take the tuna out of the marinate. Sear the tuna quickly. You want the outside to be crunchy, but the inside should still be rare and pink.
Dressing
- Drain the tomatoes. Catch the marinate, transfer to a dressing shaker and add the mustard. Shake well and transfer to a serving bowl.
Assemble the salad
- Now it is time to assemble your salad if you are going for a pretty mixed salad or put all the individual bowls, plates and platters on the dinner table so everyone can create their own salad. Enjoy your dinner salad!
Notes
did you make this recipe?
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