Nicoise Salad

Approximately 600 calories per person – Serves 2

• Prep time: about 20 to 30 minutes
• Cook time: about 40 minutes, including getting water to a boil
• Total time: About 60 to 70 minutes

This recipe takes some coordination since you can perform several tasks at once. Start heating the water for the potatoes while prepping the ingredients. Boil the eggs while the potatoes cook. Wash and dry lettuce while potatoes cook. Peel the eggs while the beans cook. You get the idea.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces (223 grams) unpeeled red-skinned potatoes
• 8 ounces (223 grams) thin green beans
• 2 large eggs, medium/soft boiled
• 8 ounces (225 grams) cherry tomatoes
• ½ head boston (or bibb, butter, red or green leaf or romaine) lettuce.
• 4 radishes
• 1 5-ounce can or packet of tuna in water
• 16 kalamata olives
• 4 teaspoons (tsp) capers
• 1 tablespoon (Tbsp) of sherry cooking wine
• Salt and pepper to taste

• Dressing
  • 4 tablespoons (Tbsp) olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons (Tbsp) white wine vinegar
  • ⅓ ounce (10 grams) shallot or red onion
  • ½ tablespoon (Tbsp) dijon mustard
  • ½ tablespoon (Tbsp) mustard with seeds
  • ½ tablespoon (Tbsp) fresh thyme  or ½ teaspoon (tsp) dried thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more to taste

Steps

• Preparation
  • Scrub and cut the potatoes into ⅓ inch thick slices.
  • Wash and trim ends off the green beans.
  • Halve or quarter, depending on size, the cherry tomatoes. Toss the sliced tomatoes in a small bowl and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside
  • Separate, trim, and wash the lettuce leaves. Ideally you have 8 large leaves, but 10 to 12 medium leaves will work.
  • Trim and quarter the radishes.
  • Drain and pat very dry the tuna with a paper towel.
  • Slice the olives in half.
  • Mince or finely chop the shallot.
  • Measure out the thyme.

• Dressing
  • Whisk the white wine vinegar, shallot, two mustards, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper (more or less to taste) in a bowl. 
  • Whisk the olive oil into the above ingredients – pouring it in a slow.
  • Set aside

• Potatoes
  • Put the sliced potatoes in a saucepan. Cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a simmer and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Do not over cook. You want the potatoes firm and throughly cooked but not mushy.
  • With a slotted spoon, carefully remove potatoes from the pan and transfer to a medium bowl, leaving the hot water in the saucepan to cook the beans.
  • Drizzle the potatoes with the Sherry cooking wine. Occasionally, toss them, but gently, as you allow them to cool.

• Green Beans
  • If needed, add more water and salt to the saucepan to cover the beans. Bring water to a boil. (While the water is reaching a boil, fill a bowl with salted ice water to cold-plunge the cooked beans.)
  • Add the green beans to the boiling water. Cook 2-4 minutes until crisp-tender and bright green.
  • Drain the beans and immediately plunge the them into the ice water.
  • Leave for only a moment, then remove with slotted spoon, drain, pat dry and set aside. 

• Eggs
  • Egg cooker method for soft boiled eggs:
    • If the eggs are cold, set the cooker for hard boiled to achieve soft/medium boiled eggs
  • If not using the egg cooker, try these steps:
    • Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover the shells one inch high in cold water.
    • Over high heat, bring to a boil, then cover and lower to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let stand, 10 minutes. 
    • Drain, then run under cold water to cool. 
  • Peel the eggs in a bowl of cold water.
  • Slice the medium-cooked eggs into quarters. Set aside.

• Serve
  • Divide the lettuce among 2 plates, making a ‘base’ of leaves over the entire surface of the plate.
  • Arrange the potatoes, green beans, radishes, eggs, olives, capers, tomatoes (save the juice in the bowl), and tuna on top of the leaves. Be artistic! Food is celebration!
  • Pour the juices rendered from cutting the tomatoes into the dressing. Stir the dressing, then drizzle the two plates to evenly cover all the ingredients.
  • Serve immediately. Enjoy!

All of Living in Beauty Recipes

We are working on a series of recipes that are easy to fix in an RV and are approximately 600 calories per person for two people. Ultimately, they will be compiled into “The Bean Counter Cookbook.”