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Salade Niçoise

This is, of course, a classic, and when made with freshly seared tuna and delicious seasonal vegetables, lovely free-range eggs and really good olive oil, it is a perfect, fresh daytime dish.

SERVES 6

18 small new potatoes, unpeeled

Salt and ground black pepper

18 French beans

3 handfuls of rocket leaves

3 chunky tuna steaks, seared

6 eggs, hard-boiled (see tip below), peeled and cut into quarters

2 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tbsp sliced or torn basil

6 very ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

24 black olives with the stones in, or pitted if you prefer (see tip below)

2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

9 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 1cm (½in) chunks

18 tinned anchovies, drained and rinsed

Handful of chopped mixed herbs

For the dressing

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp runny honey

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil, then cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes and cut into 2cm (¾in) chunks and set aside.

2 Meanwhile, bring another saucepan of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt and cook the French beans for 3–4 minutes or until just cooked but still a little ‘squeaky’ when bitten, then drain and set aside.

3 Next make the dressing by placing all the ingredients in a clean screw-top jam jar. Season with a little salt and pepper, then place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously. Set aside.

4 Place the rocket leaves in a serving dish, then arrange the cooked potatoes and beans randomly on top, along with the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, pour over the dressing and sprinkle with the herbs. Toss the salad so all the ingredients are evenly coated in the dressing and serve immediately.

RACHEL’S TIPS

Boiling the eggs for 8–9 minutes will leave the whites completely cooked but the yolks still ever so slightly soft, which is ideal for this dish.

Try to resist buying olives that come ready-pitted in jars as they have much less flavour. To pit them, just give them a bash with the flat side of a chopping-knife blade and remove the stones.