Niçoise Salad With Basil and Anchovy-Lemon Vinaigrette

Name: Niçoise Salad With Basil and Anchovy-Lemon Vinaigrette
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 1 large garlic clove, minced; 2 anchovy fillets, chopped; 1/4 teaspoon salt, more as needed; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest; 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1/3 cup olive oil, more as needed; 1/4 pound baby red potatoes; 1/2 pound haricots verts or green beans; 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil; 8 radishes, cut into wedges, or 1 slender cucumber, peeled and sliced; 2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges, or 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved; 2 (6 or 7-ounce) cans tuna packed in olive oil, drained; 4 hard-boiled eggs (optional); 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced; Black pepper, for serving; Flaky sea salt, for serving; Torn basil leaves, for serving

By Melissa Clark

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(768)
Notes: Read community notes

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
⅓cup 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

Preparation

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.
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.
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

768 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Nancy6 years ago

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...

Beulah6 years ago

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.,

Judy6 years ago

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.

Cher5046 years ago

I used fresh tuna seared with ground spices: pepper, fennel, coriander, caraway, kosher salt. Added cucumber, capers, lettuce, stigma. Love it!

Tami6 years ago

I found the dressing to be tasty but a little too oily. I'll add more lemon next time. I also didn't have basil but did use what fresh herbs I had: dill and tarragon. Yummly. This is a great recipe to trot out at different times of the year to showcase whatever is fresh and good.

Julie Wood6 years ago

Perfect August evening dinner. I cheated and used frozen green beans--they worked!

J McLaughlin3 years ago

Friends rave about this salad, and I live in Nice. BTW, in my experience the tuna is always canned packed in oil, never fresh, even in top restaurants. Le vrai - the real thing.

Loved it6 years ago

I added more anchovies and it was delicious

Cynthia Van Hazinga4 years ago

Also good with leftover chicken, sliced, if you have some in the fridge. Olives essential.

Sharon Silva3 years ago

I prepared exactly as written, except I used oven roasted sweet potatoes for the potato and instead of green beans, I used asparagus from our garden. Very good for a hot evening on the deck with chilled Pinot Gris.

mgh3 years ago

This vinaigrette has become our household dressing: great on the Nicoise, fabulous on simple greens, and dynamite on my husband’s daily chopped salad from TJ’s.

Katie2 years ago

I was timid to try the anchovies but decided to give it a try. This was absolutely the best vinaigrette I’ve ever made. A complex, delicious winner!

Mark3 years ago

Simply wonderful! A big hit. Doubled the garlic, used anchovy paste for the vinaigrette which blended in more easily and fillets for presentation on the salad, it was delicious. We grilled fresh tuna (lightly brushed with olive oil, a sprinkle of garlic powder and fresh ground pepper) instead of canned, which paired really nicely with the vinaigrette. Our farmers market had a beautiful medley of rainbow radishes which were a colorful addition. This will definitely become a summer staple!

Ann Carman5 years ago

Very cook but takes longer than 30 minutes!

Loved it6 years ago

Loved the salad, however, I added more anchovies and came out as the one eat in Nice . Delicious

nicole5 days ago

I made with this salad but with the salsa verde from Martha Rose Schulman’s recipe and a can of Ortiz tuna packed in oil. It was delicious! I bet having the true vinaigrette would be incredible too with a mustardy kick. It’s nice to have all of these components in the fridge to throw together for the week. An awesome way to eat loads of veggies!

lane1 week ago

I like this recipe to riff from. Did the dressing mostly as directed - doubled garlic and more anchovy (keep). Did green beans - careful to keep em crisp. Used tarragon in dressing - good.

Debra P6 months ago

I lived in Nice almost 40 years ago and this was a staple. As is indicated in this recipe, it's usually made with canned tuna. Since I don't eat canned tuna, I made this with fresh tuna, using the salmon marinade in this Ina Garten recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-salmon-nicoise-platter-recipe-1908586 The marinade worked great for the tuna, the rest of the recipe I made as-is. I used cucumbers instead of radishes also. It was great for company on a summer eve.

condiment queen7 months ago

Took longer than 30 minutes to put this together. I did use hard boiled eggs. Good dressing but the whole dish doesn’t seem worth the effort. I guess I’m not a Niçoise salad person.

Michael7 months ago

Great recipe. Tweaked to sear boiled potatoes and used salmon in place of Tuna.

susan7 months ago

Made with fresh albacore. Next time try with canned tuna in oil.

Portez8 months ago

Great recipe, but the lemony anchovy vinaigrette should be doubled.

MCP8 months ago

Garlic oil from garlic confit Meyer lemons Grey poop country mustard Cracked pepper and a teensy bit of kosher salt Oaktown spices herbed ditaliano because it was raining X virgin o FBumous!

MCP8 months ago

Dressing Garlic oil from confit X v ok Meyer lemon for juice and zest Oaktown spice Italian herbs Tsp grey Poupon grainy mustard Cracked pepper and kosher salt Fabulous!

Ted8 months ago

Instead of canned tuna, I used 250g of tuna filet. I cooked it very briefly in a hot fry pan in a little olive oil. I kept the 2cm-thick tuna rare on the inside. Worked perfectly.

Peg Abrams8 months ago

Very delicious and easy to stage the prep work in phases.

A Virginian8 months ago

Perfection on a hot summer night with a glass of rosé and a baguette.

Pamela8 months ago

Used fish sauce in place of salt and anchovies.

Patricia9 months ago

To make it easier I put the first dressing ingredients in the blender then whisked in the olive oil. And yes to leftover anchovies on the salad. So delicious.

Jules10 months ago

To make vegetarian: Used Alison Roman's frizzled chickpeas instead of tuna; skipped anchovies.

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