Simple Salad Niçoise

Our favorite thing about this recipe is that it has only 5 ingredients! A friend of ours found it on Cup of Jo and shared it with us, and it has been one of our go-tos ever since. We love this recipe for a fresh lunch or a light dinner. The best part is some of the cooking (the potatoes, green beans and eggs) can be done ahead of time for a quick but delicious week-day lunch.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 12 small potatoes

• 2 handfuls of haricots vert or green beans

• 4 eggs

• 1 bunch romaine or Bibb lettuce (LNON tip: we’ve also made this with organic spinach and arugula and it was delicious). 

• 1 4-ounce can of wild albacore tuna (in water or oil)

• LNON Tip: We love to add olives and sliced tomatoes to this salad as well.

Instructions:

• Boil potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. (If a knife cuts through one easily, they’re ready.) 

• Blanch two big handfuls of green beans. Instructions:

  • First, trim the beans. Snap off the stem ends by hand, or use kitchen scissors to snip off the stem ends. If your beans have them, remove any tough strings that run along the length of the beans. There’s no need to trim off the tails.

  • Then, grab a pot large enough to hold the green beans you plan to cook, and fill it with water. If you don’t have a pot large enough, don’t fret—you can blanch the beans in stages.

  • Salt the water and bring it to a rapid boil. While you’re waiting, fill another bowl with ice water and keep it nearby.

  • When the water boils, add the green beans and boil until bright green and tender crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then remove them using a slotted spoon if you need to keep blanching beans, or drain the beans completely.

  • As soon as you pull out the beans, immediately plunge them into the ice bath to halt cooking.

  • Once the beans are completely cool, take them out of the water, then pat them dry.

  • (LNON TIP: if you are meal prepping - you can freeze these for later use.) Store cooked green beans in a sturdy freezer bag or vacuum sealed package. Thaw and add to almost everything.

• Make seven-minute eggs:

  • Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. 

  • Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower eggs into water one at a time. 

  • Cook 6½ minutes, adjusting heat to maintain a gentle boil. 

  • Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and chill until just slightly warm, about 2 minutes.

  • Gently crack eggs all over and peel, starting from the wider end, which contains the air pocket.

  • Meal prep tip: Eggs can be cooked and peeled 3 days ahead. Store airtight in the refrigerator.

• Fill a bowl with washed greens and top with one can of wild tuna (drained) (LNON tip: make sure the tuna is wild and that the can is BPA free), the cooked veggies, and eggs. 

• Season with salt, pepper and your favorite bottled vinaigrette.

LNON Tip: We love to add olives and sliced tomatoes to this salad as well.