Is it summer yet? With Memorial Day right around the corner, and a heat wave oppressing the south, it sure does feel like it. My very own version of a favorite French salad is easily put together, and works with just about any fresh veggies and tuna/salmon you have on hand. It’s perfect for when you have graduation ceremonies, recitals and tee-ball playoff games to attend, yet need a refreshing entrée salad to whip up and fortify you before going into Mom mode.

This simple yet sophisticated salad is made up of tomatoes, olives, anchovies (my favorite) and hard boiled eggs. In this particular version of Nicoise, I left off the olives, and to my sweet surprise it still tasted like a classic Nicoise. The great thing about this quintessential summer salad is not needing everything you think you do to make it great – everything works! Let your creative license run wild!

On many American menus, you can find a version of a Nicoise salad that includes tuna, crisp-tender haricot verts and par-cooked potatoes.

Mine, of course gives a nod to the original French dish, and whole lotta latitude with this creative adaption. Let me know how you tweaked yours, and I just might show up for dinner!

Jorj’s Nicoise Salad
Serves 4
30 minute cuisine

For the salmon:

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

For the vinaigrette

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium shallot, chopped

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Juice of a lemon, about two tablespoons

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

For the baby potatoes:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Sea salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad:

1 (2–pound) whole salmon fillet

1 pound seared tuna

1 (7-ounce) tin flat fillets of anchovies, packed in oil

¾ pound green beans, trimmed

1 pound Baby potatoes, boiled and peeled

Juice of a lemon, about two tablespoons

½ pound fresh Brussels sprouts, about 12, trimmed, about 2 cups

5 large eggs, hard-cooked and peeled

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

Boil the baby potatoes until the tines of a fork can penetrate easily, about 10 minutes. Toss the potatoes with olive oil, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Cool these to room temperature. Blanch the green beans and Brussels sprouts in boiling water, throwing them into an ice-water bath to cool down; then toss in the lemon juice.

Make a salmon rub from brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, onion and garlic powders. Smush the powders onto a whole filet of salmon, drizzled with olive oil and roasted in a 375°oven until still very moist on the inside, about 20 minutes.

Add the seared tuna, anchovies, hardboiled eggs and grape tomatoes.

Make a vinaigrette from chopped shallot, mustard, lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar and olive oil. You can store the dressing in any container that you like, and add to the salad per your own taste. I like to drizzle my salad with vinaigrette right before I eat it.

Lay everything onto a platter and chill for at least an hour (and as long as all day).