Salade Niçoise or Salad Nicoise with Salmon
Traditional French Salad with Green Beans, Potatoes & Olives
Mar 9, 2009
Eating healthy and eating well can go hand-in-hand. The French have been eating well for centuries, although not what many work-stressed Americans would call easy meals. The French, in general, spend much more time preparing and presenting a meal than most Americans.
Salade Niçoise is one meal that is healthy, beautiful, easy to make, and tastes great. In this Americanized version, the salad ingredients (except for the salmon) are tossed with dressing rather than arranged on the plate as the French would do. Tossing the veggies with the dressing, reduces the amount of dressing used and gives the whole salad a more evenly flavorful taste.
Cutting up the vegetables for the salad takes the most time. The potatoes need to be cooked, but cooking them in the microwave makes this dish easy to prepare. To keep calories, cholesterol and salt to a minimum, the traditional hard boiled egg and anchovies have been eliminated from this recipe.
Salade Niçoise or Nicoise Salad with Pan-Seared Salmon
Ingredients:
- 1 head Romaine lettuce cut into small pieces
- 2 carrots peeled, sliced thin on diagonal
- 1 C cut green beans (fresh or frozen)*
- 2 medium red potatoes cut in small cubes
- 4 olives sliced
- 1/4 C balsamic vinaigrette dressing
- 1 lb fresh salmon
- 1 t olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
- Cut up one head of Romaine lettuce into bite-sized pieces and let soak in bowl of cold water.
- Wash potatoes, cut into small cubes (skin on) and spread single layer in microwave safe baking dish.
- Cook potatoes uncovered in microwave for 4 min. When finished, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Wash and peel carrots and cut thin slices on diagonal.
- Drain lettuce thoroughly and set aside.
- Pre-heat non-stick fry pan over medium heat.
- Pepper each side of salmon.
- Add olive oil to fry pan and place salmon in fry pan (skin side down).
- Let salmon cook for 5-7 min. and carefully turn to other side to cook for additional 5-7 min.
- Drizzle carrots and beans with some olive oil and stir fry in a separate pan for a couple of minutes until slightly tender…do not over cook.
- Add potatoes, olives, carrots and beans to lettuce and toss with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
- Take salmon out of fry pan and let stand for a couple of minutes.
- Plate salad with half the salmon for each serving.
*asparagus can be substituted for green beans and other fresh vegetable like tomatoes or onion can be added for variety.
Salad Nicoise is a Healthy, Easy Meal for Two
When wanting a healthy dish, that is satisfying and easy to make, try this variation of the French classic. To use less salmon, it can be flaked and layered on top of the salad rather than placed on the side. Add a glass of chilled white wine for a simple and delightfully light dinner or lunch.
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