Salad Nicoise
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Salad Nicoise

A Gordon Ramsay classic made simple, a great fresh-tasting summer meal

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 2

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 - 25 mins

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

Method

  1. First, make the dressing. Tip the olives, anchovies and garlic into a large mortar and mash with a pestle until you have a very rough paste. Scrape into a bowl, if you like, stir in the lemon juice, olive oil and vinegar, then set aside.
  2. Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 15 mins until tender, then drain and set aside. Cook the beans in boiling salted water for 4-5 mins until tender with a slight crunch. Drain, tip into iced water, then drain again and set aside. Boil a small pan.
  3. Halve the potatoes and heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick frying pan. Place the potatoes cut-side down in the pan and sizzle for about 4 mins until golden and crisp. Toss the potatoes in the pan to brown on all sides, then turn up the heat and add the tomatoes. Fry the tomatoes for about 1 min until just starting to blister, then season. Splash in 1 tbsp of the balsamic vinegar, then turn off the heat and scatter over the basil.
  4. To cook the tuna, place a non-stick frying pan over a high heat, then turn the heat down to medium and add 1 tbsp oil. Season the tuna generously, then sear for 4 mins, leaving it undisturbed in the pan to brown. Turn over and continue to cook for 4 mins on the other side. This will give you very rare tuna. For rare, cook for 2 mins more on each side and for well done, add another 4 mins on each side. Set the tuna aside to rest for a few mins.
  5. To serve, whisk the remaining oil and vinegar with the lemon juice in a small bowl and toss in the lettuce wedges. Place a spoonful of olive dressing into 2 serving bowls, arrange the potatoes and tomatoes over, then put a pile of beans on top. Slice the tuna in half at a slight angle and place each half on top of the beans. Wedge the lettuce around the outside, halve the eggs and position in between the lettuce. Dollop a small spoonful of olive dressing on each egg.
Try

Gordon's tip

Fresh, seared tuna is infinitely better with this salad than tinned. I like to cook both portions of tuna as a whole piece, which is easier to cook, and then slice it into two once it's done. Rather than adding too many ingredients to the salad, I've taken the olives and anchovies from the classic version and incorporated them into a dressing.

Gordon says...

I learned to make the classic Salad Niçoise when I cooked on a yacht off the South of France. Over the past decade, I've evolved this salad and it now appears frequently on my menus, sometimes as a simple starter or, as I've done here, with a whole piece of beautifully fresh fish as a main course. Whatever guise this dish takes, it must be the finest summer salad of all.

Is it sustainable?

When you are shopping for tuna, ask your fishmonger how it has been caught. 'Pole and line' is the most sustainable method as it avoids 'bycatch', which is when other species get caught at the same time. However, it is a time-consuming and expensive method, so you're more likely to find 'line caught' tuna - the next best method.

Which tuna?

There are two types of tuna - yellowfin and bluefin. Yellowfin is the one you will find at most fishmongers and supermarkets. Bluefin is an endangered species, very expensive and mostly used in sushi and sahimi restaurants.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, July 2007.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo rebecca

    02 November 2007

    rebecca commented on this recipe

    This recipe is absolutely delicious and very easy to do - it is also a very filling dish but you just want to eat more as it is so delicious. The flavours are magical - I leave the dressing to marinate for a while and I cook the tuna on a griddle. A definite must - Indulge Catering

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  • Binder photo arthouse

    23 November 2007

    arthouse rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo KJS

    24 April 2008

    KJS commented on this recipe

    Having lived in France all my life I find this recipe an insult to French cuisine. The essence of this dish is that the ingedients are layered. This dish should not be associated wish "Salad Nicoise" as it barely has half the traditional ingredients. Maybe if I serve a steak sandwich in my Cafe (in France) I could call it "Traditional English Sunday Roast".......

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  • Binder photo carole

    21 May 2008

    carole rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    It may not be authentic but this is delicious, I left the tomatoes and potatoes in their raw state and used good quality tinned tuna and salmon for one of my lads who doesn't eat tuna, the sauce is amazing and we all slathered it on, will make this again, it is so much better than any I have eaten in France where they can be guilty of using tinned beans and packed potatoes when they have excellent produce to hand!

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  • Binder photo Schnozwangle Plonker

    14 June 2008

    Schnozwangle Plonker rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This is a perfect recipe to make with the children, there are so many things that they can help out with. this leaves me with only one more thing to say - WELL DONE GORDON!!!!!!

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  • Binder photo my binder

    30 July 2008

    my binder rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    How can this be a "tested" recipe? How about boiling the eggs? In which case they are better if they are not "as fresh as you can get" otherwise they are very difficult to peel. Disappointing recipe writing BBC.

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  • Binder photo T0xicCandy

    28 September 2008

    T0xicCandy rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Fresh flavours, healthy yet deliciously indulgent. (Even minus the olives and anchovies which I abstained from the recipe). Cooking for the second time tonight!

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  • Binder photo ~Up~

    01 February 2009

    ~Up~ commented on this recipe

    This is a fair rendition, but it would help to post ingredients, first, so we know if it's what we are looking for, indeed, the one we want before going through the whole recipe.

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  • Binder photo Leanne

    22 February 2009

    Leanne rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was absolutely lovely and the amount was just great. I left out the tomatoes for myself but the olive and anchovy dressing was fantastic ! A real taste sensation and one that I'll definately do again.

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  • Binder photo flubbles1982

    02 June 2009

    flubbles1982 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This recipe was delicious and I will definitely make again. My only complaints are that the portion size was huge and I only cooked 2 eggs, halved the amount of tomatoes used and had smaller Tuna Steaks. I also think that someone needs to look at the method as it could be simplified and organised better, when I make it again I would completely rework the method. The eggs are also missing from the method and it's unclear whether the olive/garlic/anchovy paste should remain as a tapenade or be mixed with the Olive Oil and Lemon Juice.

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  • Binder photo Schnozwangle Plonker

    24 October 2009

    Schnozwangle Plonker commented on this recipe

    I loved this recipe, it gives an uplifting vibrance as it is so light and fresh. I didnt use tuna but instead I used pork which is really nice if you have it in winter. In summer I left out the broad beans as they were not very good quality. I just used more lettuce instead, yum!!!

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  • Binder photo Eat-Amsterdam.com

    09 May 2011

    Eat-Amsterdam.com commented on this recipe

    Nice twist on a classic recipe. I left out the final dressing for the lettuce altogether, though. I found the olive dressing quite oily, even using only 3 tbsp olive oil, and this was more than sufficient to coat the lettuce leaves as well. I also added a pinch of sugar to the olive dressing to take the tart edge off the lemon.

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  • Binder photo Ruth

    09 July 2011

    Ruth rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    The olive and anchovy dressing is FABULOUS. As for the complete dish, I enjoyed it, but I think I expected a little more. I also think there is FAR too much dressing overall, in fact I didn't make the one for the lettuce, I just used extra olive dressing - it tastes so good that it was a bonus to use a little more! A recipe for two people with NINE tbsps of oil is, IMO anyway, excessive - add three tbsps of balsamic and the juice of a lemon and that is one heck of a lot of liquid for a salad that serves two! That said, overall, with a few tweaks, this is a nice recipe that I will make again.

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  • Binder photo Simon

    14 May 2012

    Simon rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    As good as any restaurant version, dressing is excellent

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  • Binder photo ammybsas

    29 January 2013

    ammybsas rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Its just fine.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 2

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 - 25 mins

Cook time

Cook 30 mins

Summer treat for two

Ingredients

FOR THE OLIVE DRESSING

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