Salade Nicoise

Nice, France

During the hot months of summer, heavy hot food just doesn't appeal to me. Ok, sometimes it does. But more often than not I find myself craving salads, fresh fruit, seafood. Salads are such a great summer option because the variations are endless and can be tailored to your mood and what ingredients you have on hand.  Another favorite summer past time for me is going to the local farmers market. The one nearest to my house, the Columbia City Farmers Market is amazing. Tons of organic produce, specialty products (caramels, cider, canned salmon), handmade cheese, local eggs and meat....it is lovely. When I want to make a really fresh, brightly colored and flavorful salad, this is my go-to place.

The other day I was craving salade nicoise, which was odd, because I had never had one.  But many of the ingredients had recently entered my "will eat" list - soft boiled eggs, canned tuna, capers, and the idea of the salad sounded amazing. These ingredients have now entered my "obsessed with" list.  Here is my first attempt at the salad:

I used a combination of two recipes, one from Epicurious here and the other from Martha Stewart here.  The dressing was absolutely phenomenal.  I really prefer to make soft boiled eggs as opposed to hard boiled, but that is a personal preference.  This is the method I use to cook the perfect soft boiled egg, and it works every time. I also prefer to use high quality olive oil packed tuna, the flavor is so much better.  You can get your veggies, eggs and sometimes even tuna from a good local farmers market.  The vegetables taste so much better when they are fresh, local and in season.

On another occasion recently, my mother and I decided to recreate the salad, following another nicoise recipe from Saveur here.  It was even better!  Although significantly more time consuming.  I recommend following this recipe if you are cooking dinner for 4 or more people.  It is the perfect dinner for a warm summer night.

We added local cherry tomatoes, roasted red and golden beets, and nicoise olives.  

Bon Appetit!