California Nicoise Salad Recipe

california nicoise salad | pamela salzman

I just arrived in New York for my annual summer vacay with my parents, my sisters and their families.  We’ve descended upon my parents’ house in Long Island for a week of old fashioned backyard fun with a few trips to the beach and the ice cream parlor.  It also involves some serious menu planning for 12-16 people at any given meal.  If such persons were all adults, this task would be less challenging than if half of them were children ages 1-19.  But I love a challenge!

blanching green beans | pamela salzman

Sometimes for lunch we’ll make a giant composed salad where each component has its own space and I serve the dressing in a small pitcher on the side.  I notice the kids (and picky adults, in general) eat much more of a composed salad than a tossed one.  My son, Mr. Picky, can always find something to choose from a composed salad versus one that is tossed, especially if there’s one ingredient that’s offensive and touching everything else.  Touching ingredients is a deal breaker!! This version of a classic Nicoise salad is always a winner, plus it’s one of my favorite salads of all time.

how to cut an avocado | pamela salzman

The classic typically contains oil-packed tuna, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, green beans (usually the small haricot verts), Nicoise olives, and boiled potatoes.  It’s a perfect salad for summer because it can all be prepped ahead and served cold or at room temp.  And it’s a meal unto itself.

nicoise prep | pamela salzman

But I have made so many versions of this salad subbing chicken or slow-roasted salmon for the tuna or even white beans for the tuna for a vegetarian version.  Regular string beans for the haricot verts.  Even cucumbers have worked nicely.  But in this version, which I call a “California Nicoise,” I sub in the very Cali avocado for the potato, because everyone seems to be watching his or her carbs lately!  Because of the versatility of this salad, it was a hugely popular in my classes last summer with everyone — Paleo-types, vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free peeps and so on.

california nicoise salad | pamela salzman

Visually, I think this salad is so beautiful and quite healthful, too.  It is well balanced with high quality protein, fat and lots of veggies.  I love using the very best tuna for this salad.  I featured this Tonnino oil packed wild tuna in a recent Five Friday Favorites and it is perfect here.  If you want to use standard canned tuna, just drizzle a little olive oil on top for added flavor.

california nicoise salad | pamela salzman

Green beans can be blanched, radishes sliced and eggs boiled the day before and refrigerated.  But again, feel free to sub other ingredients if that would make you happy.  And if you notice more takers than usual for this salad, perhaps employ the composed method for other salads too!

California Nicoise Salad

Pamela
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients
  

  • For the dressing:
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tablespoons champagne or white wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 ounces haricot verts thin French green beans or string beans, trimmed
  • 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
  • 4-6 hard-boiled large eggs **peeled and halved lengthwise
  • 1-2 cans high-quality tuna preferably packed in olive oil, drained and broken into pieces
  • 1 large avocado cubed***
  • ½ cup olives preferably Niçoise
  • ¾ pound cherry tomatoes halved
  • 4 radishes trimmed and thinly sliced
  • Bibb lettuce leaves to line platter if desired, or shredded as a bed for the lettuce

Instructions
 

  • Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl or shake in a screw-top jar.
  • Prepare a bowl of ice water for the green beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add kosher salt. Add the beans and set a timer for 3 minutes. After beans have cooked for 3 minutes, test for tenderness. They should be crisp-tender, but not taste raw. Drain and immediately submerge in the ice water bath. Drain after 5 minutes or so and pat dry. Can be done the day before and refrigerated.
  • Assemble the salad by arranging ingredients in separate groups. I like to line the platter with lettuce either just under the tuna or the entire platter. Drizzle everything with dressing or leave on the side for each person to dress his/her own salad.

Notes

*Ingredient amounts can vary based on preferences.
**Place uncooked eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off heat and time for 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water or transfer to a bowl of cold water. Can be done a day ahead and peeled before serving.
***the avocado is in place of the traditional boiled, small new potatoes. But use 1 pound of potatoes if you prefer.
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Tuna patties recipe

Tuna Patties by Pamela Salzman

Everyone this week was asking about my Mother’s Day and I realized I completely forgot to recount the day for my dear readers!  After all, it has been tradition the last couple of years that my husband and bother-in-law and sometimes my father-in-law too, plan and execute Mother’s Day lunch for the ladies.  They even do the dishes!  The whole day feels like such a treat since I can even workout in the morning AND wash AND blow dry my hair.  Before noon!  Now that doesn’t happen very often.  But I also really look forward to trying some new eats, like the bulgur-feta burgers they made last year from Maria Speck’s cookbook.  Yummers!  Eating food that’s not for a class or my blog is a fun experience for me.

really fantastic tuna from Vital Choice

This year, the boys were a little behind on their planning and were deciding the menu on Sunday morning.  On their way to the grocery store.  I guess they figured the easiest place to go for recipes with which they were familiar was my website.  Yep.  More of my food.  Whatever.  It’s all fine.  They did a great job even though it took them about 5 hours to make 2 salads and strawberry shortcakes.  And my husband put his own (unintentional) spin on my avocado, jicama and mango salad when he substituted curry powder for cumin.  The first two letters are the same — easy mistake!  Nonetheless, it was a perfect Mother’s Day.

makings of tuna patties

I was working at home the other day with my assistant and normally we throw together leftovers from a class for lunch or make a kale salad with quinoa and whatever is in the vegetable drawer, but yesterday I had a craving for NOT MY FOOD.  I was feeling spontaneous and decided to look through my Foodily faves and Pinterest pins.  I came upon these tuna patties and nothing could stop me.  They reminded me of ones that my mom used to make, except I am fairly certain she used Ritz Crackers as the binder.  Gotta love the 70’s.

taste it for seasoning before you add the egg

I had all the ingredients handy and we threw these together in no time.  They were so delicious and reminded me a little of crab cakes, but much easier on the wallet.  Next time I make them, and there will be a next time, I’m going to make a sauce to go with them.  I’m thinking something creamy with lemon and capers.  I think these could also be great as a mini version for an hors d’oeuvre.  We ate them with a mixed green salad and it was a really satisfying lunch.

chilling before you saute helps them stay together

By the way, I have a terrific source for very high quality tuna.  I buy it from vitalchoice.com and although it might be one of the more expensive tunas, it’s also the absolute best and Vital Choice doesn’t use BPA in their can liners.  Thank you, Vital Choice!  This tuna has minimal mercury and is the freshest-tasting I’ve come across.  If you have a canned tuna that you love, please share!

Tuna Patties by Pamela Salzman

Let’s think ahead here.  If you want to put the patties together before you leave for the day, or before you start driving everyone to sports practices and music lessons, you can do that and then just saute them right before dinner.  You can add some oven fries and a salad or grilled vegetables for a very quick, easy and healthful dinner.  Or next year’s Mother’s Day lunch.  Hint, hint.

Tuna Patties by Pamela Salzman

Tuna Patties

Author: Pamela, adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Pamela
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 6- ounce cans tuna if you use 5-ounce cans of tuna, decrease lemon juice and water to 2 teaspoons
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ½ cup panko bread crumbs or crumbled crackers or mashed potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest lemon your lemon before juicing it
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon water or liquid from the cans of tuna - omit if your tuna is very wet like some chunk light varieties
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley measure after it’s chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh green onions shallots or chives
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste I used ½ tsp. salt and a few grinds of pepper
  • A couple dashes of hot sauce or tabasco
  • 1 large egg I imagine you can substitute 1 Tablespoon ground flax meal mixed with 3 Tablespoons warm water. Just let it sit for 15 minutes before you add it to the tuna mixture.
  • 3 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil or ghee
  • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter or ghee

Instructions
 

  • Drain the liquid from the tuna cans.  If the tuna is packed in water, reserve a tablespoon of the tuna water and also add a teaspoon of olive oil to the tuna mixture in the next step. If your tuna is soggy and not dry, do not add water.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together the tuna, mustard, bread crumbs, lemon zest, lemon juice, water, parsley, onions, and hot sauce.  Add salt and pepper and taste for seasoning before adding in the egg.  Add egg to mixture and combine.
  • Line a baking sheet or a tray with parchment or waxed paper.  To make a patty, shape some of the mixture into a ball and then flatten between your hands.  Place all the patties on the prepared tray and refrigerate for an hour so they don’t fall apart when you cook them.  If you’re in a hurry, you can stick them in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  • Heat the oil and butter or ghee in a large skillet over medium heat.  Use less fat if you use a smaller skillet.  You want the oil and butter to be warm enough so that the patties sizzle when they hit the pan, but you don’t want them to be smoking.  Gently transfer the tuna patties to the pan and sauté until browned, about 3-4 minutes on each side.
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My favorite tuna salad

Well people, sandwich season is upon us and I’m proposing that we branch out and see if we can avoid making peanut butter and jelly everyday.  In fact, I know many of you are in nut-free schools and can’t rely on the old standby at all.  On the other hand, luncheon meats freak me out a bit — and not for any scientific reason.  I just can’t get past the idea that this turkey was cooked who knows when and squished and reformed into this new product with lots of “natural flavors.”  I’d rather poach or grill organic chicken breasts and give the kids chicken sandwiches, which is exactly what I do and I save a little money while I’m at it.

As for me, I’m not much of a sandwich eater, mostly because I prefer to eat quinoa over bread.  But if I had to pick a sandwich for my last supper, it would be tuna salad with lettuce, tomato and avocado on whole grain bread.  If there happen to be some grilled onions lying around, I would add those in, too.  But this wouldn’t be just any tuna salad, it would be this one right here, which my kids also love — hooray!

I found the canned tuna of my dreams at Vital Choice — cooked once, BPA-free cans, minimal mercury and absolutely the best tasting tuna ever.   (It’s also one of the most expensive tunas out there.  Drat!)  Tuna is high in Omega-3 fatty acids (very anti-inflammatory and you’re probably not getting enough of them) and high in protein (so important when the kids are at school).  I mix it with some of the expected like a little mayo (I like soy-free Vegenaise), celery, diced shallot (I hate cutting 2 tablespoons of onion and then wrapping the cut onion in the fridge), a little lemon juice to brighten everything up and a touch of Dijon mustard to give it some zing.  But don’t get mad when I tell you I have a random secret ingredient.  My friend Daisy introduced me to Herbamare, an organic herb and salt seasoning, several years ago and my tuna salad peaked.  It just adds the perfect flavor to complement the tuna.  I buy it at Whole Foods, but you can also find it on amazon.com.  Otherwise, just use some sea salt to taste.

You can make your tuna salad the night before to make your morning easier.  Mr. Picky doesn’t like sandwiches (hard to believe, right?), so he takes his tuna in a (BPA-free) container with a spoon.  My teenage girls would please like a breath freshener in their lunch bags on tuna day, and that does NOT mean a sprig of parsley.  Got it.  Look out for more lunch ideas in a future post!

 

My Favorite Tuna Salad

Pamela
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 6- ounce can water-packed tuna drained
  • ¼ of a lemon
  • 1 stalk celery diced, about ½ cup
  • 1 small shallot diced, about 2 Tablespoons
  • 2-3 Tablespoons mayonnaise I like soy-free Vegenaise or half Greek yogurt and half mayo
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard optional
  • 3/8 teaspoon Herbamare or sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Right in the can, flake the tuna with a fork over a medium bowl, at the same time allowing the tuna to fall into the bowl. Squeeze the lemon over the tuna.
  • Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix well. Taste for seasoning.

Notes

Notes: other additions can include diced apple, diced sweet bell pepper, sliced manzanilla olives (the ones stuffed with pimentos), chopped nuts, chopped water chestnuts, fresh dill
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White bean salad with celery and mint (and sometimes tuna)

Happy summer!  I really can’t believe it’s here, but I am just thrilled to bits.  Even though I still teach during the summer, I find that my schedule with the kids is a little easier and frees me up to spend a bit more time cooking.  The ironic thing is that during the summer, we don’t need to “cook” as much.  The weather is warmer and our bodies can tolerate more raw or lightly cooked foods.  But this has to be my favorite season for just the sheer bounty of vegetables and fruits available.  You can find me literally bouncing around the farmer’s markets in the summer overbuying berries and stone fruits, corn, eggplant, greens and tomatoes.  This past Saturday I bought a bushel of mint that was so gorgeous and fragrant, I couldn’t resist.  But I should have since already I GROW mint on my patio.

I also love summer since we entertain much more frequently and it’s a wonderful chance to catch up with friends.  I enjoyed a little quiet time this morning planning some weekend meals with guests in mind.  I have several new recipes I’ll be trying out, like chicken and vegetable kabobs with chimichurri sauce, black bean burgers with a smoky red pepper spread, and cantaloupe and cucumber salad.  I’m hoping they get the thumbs-up and I’ll post them before the end of the season.  Also, the kids and I have been having fun dipping big chunks of peeled ripe bananas into melted dark chocolate and freezing them.  But in as much as I get excited about experimenting, I also love my favorite stand-bys.

One of my regular dishes in the summer is this white bean, celery and mint salad.  By now you know I have a thing for creamy and crunchy together and I clearly have no self-control when a healthy bunch of mint seduces me.  On a beach day, I like to put the fixings out for a make-your-own sandwich bar.   Whether we choose to eat a quick bite at home or pack the sandwiches to go, this bean salad is always the perfect side to chicken salad, grilled vegetables or a humble turkey on wheat.  It is a great salad to bring on a picnic since the beans and celery don’t suffer after sitting in dressing for hours.  But the recipe is so easy that you might find yourself at home for lunch one day and decide that you can pull a beautiful healthful salad together with that can of white beans in your pantry and a simple vinaigrette.

Beans are a great source of inexpensive, low-fat protein and contain a ton of soluble fiber — so great for helping balance the LDL and HDL levels.  I am pretty good about planning meals in advance, so I will usually soak dried beans and make them from scratch, but opening up a can of Eden Organic beans is just fine, although a tad more expensive.  Sometimes I add canned tuna to this salad and you really need nothing more, although my girls love to take crusty bread and scoop up the salad and eat it that way.  Now would be a good time to mention that I dread BPA, which is a plastic and resin ingredient found in the linings of most cans, as well as water bottles and is associated with several health problems including breast cancer and infertility.  Thankfully, Eden Organics and Vital Choice Seafood do not use BPA in their can liners.

Please stop in again for more fresh, healthful and seasonal recipes to share with family and friends.  I’m looking forward to a great summer!

 

White Bean Salad with Celery and Mint (and Sometimes Tuna)

Pamela
5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound dried Great Northern or cannellini beans*
  • 1 medium onion quartered
  • 1 stalk celery quartered
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • 1 2- inch piece kombu if you have it**
  • 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
  • Dressing:
  • ¾ cup unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar preferably unpasteurized
  • ½ teaspoon raw honey
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 ½ cups chopped celery
  • 1 shallot cut into thin half-moon slices ar ½ red onion, small dice
  • 1 ½ cups loosely packed mint leaves chopped
  • 1 7- ounces can albacore tuna packed in oil or water optional, flaked

Instructions
 

  • Rinse the beans and pick over for small stones or debris. Soak the beans in cold water overnight with a 2-inch piece of kombu.
  • Discard the soaking liquid, and place the beans and the other ingredients for cooking them in a 6-quart pot. Add enough cold water to fill the pot half full. Bring to a boil. Simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the beans are tender. Turn off the heat, add the tablespoon of kosher salt and allow to cool in the cooking liquid. Drain and discard the cooking liquid, onion, celery and kombu.
  • Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until emulsified.
  • To make the salad, transfer the cooked beans to a serving bowl. Add the celery, sliced shallot, fresh mint and (optional tuna.) Pour the dressing over the beans and toss to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Notes

*Or you can use 6 cups drained and rinsed canned beans, approximately 3 or 4 cans.
** Kombu is a seaweed which helps tenderize the beans and make them more digestible. If you also cook the beans with the kombu, it adds alkalinity. I buy Eden kombu at Whole Foods or from amazon.com
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

white bean salad with celery and mint (and sometimes tuna)

serves 8

 

1 pound dried Great Northern or cannellini beans*

1 medium onion, quartered

1 stalk celery, quartered

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 2-inch piece kombu (if you have it)**

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

 

Dressing:

¾ cup unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar, preferably unpasteurized

½ teaspoon raw honey

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

 

1 ½ cups chopped celery

1 shallot, cut into thin half-moon slices ar ½ red onion, small dice

1 ½ cups loosely packed mint leaves, chopped

1 7-ounces can albacore tuna packed in oil or water (optional), flaked

  1. Rinse the beans and pick over for small stones or debris.  Soak the beans in cold water overnight with a 2-inch piece of kombu.
  2. Discard the soaking liquid, and place the beans and the other ingredients for cooking them in a 6-quart pot.  Add enough cold water to fill the pot half full.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the beans are tender.  Turn off the heat, add the tablespoon of kosher salt and allow to cool in the cooking liquid.  Drain and discard the cooking liquid, onion, celery and kombu.
  3. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until emulsified.
  4. To make the salad, transfer the cooked beans to a serving bowl.  Add the celery, sliced shallot, fresh mint and (optional tuna.)  Pour the dressing over the beans and toss to blend.  Serve at room temperature.

 

*Or you can use 6 cups drained and rinsed canned beans, approximately 3 or 4 cans.

** Kombu is a seaweed which helps tenderize the beans and make them more digestible.  If you also cook the beans with the kombu, it adds alkalinity.  I buy Eden kombu at Whole Foods or from amazon.com