This is the shizzle of all nicoise salad recipes. Pimped up to the nth degree, it a big hit of flavour that tastes amazing out in the sunshine. The origins of the salad come from France, and the name is derived from the nicoise olives that it contains. If you want to turn this recipe into an even more stylish main, you can use seared tuna steaks in place of tinned tuna.
Approx. cost – £4.55 a head
Fruit n vegetable count – 5
Nicoise salad ingredients (per person):
• 1 can of tuna
• 7 cherry tomatoes (chopped in half)
• Half bag of green salad
• 7 baby gherkins (chopped in half)
• 2 eggs
• 7 black nicoise olives (chopped in half)
• A handful of chopped coriander
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp of the vinegar from the pickled gherkins
• 2 tsp malt vinegar
• Dry mixed herbs
• Salt & pepper
• Farfalle pasta bows
Nicoise salad recipe instructions:
1. Put the farfalle on to boil with a pinch of salt and pepper and a little olive oil.
2. Add the eggs (in their shells) to the pan with the pasta and while it’s all boiling pour the vinegar from the baby gherkins, the malt vinegar, the olive oil, herbs and salt & pepper to a small jug and mix thoroughly with a fork.
3. Mix the chopped cherry tomatoes, tuna (drained and flaked with a fork), salad leaves, baby gherkins, olives and coriander in a salad bowl.
4. After 5½ minutes, takes the eggs out of the boiling water and leave on the side, while the pasta cooks.
5. Drain the pasta once it is cooked and rinse briefly with cool water, before adding it to the salad bowl. Then rinse the boiled eggs under cool water, remove the shell and add to the salad bowl cut in quarters.
6. Give the dressing another good blitz with the fork and pour all over the salad.
