Recipe #9 - Nicoise Salad, DuMond Style

Nicoise salads have been around for a long time and can come in a number of variations. This is our favorite rendition, including seared ahi tuna and deleting anchovies. Purists will cringe, but we always delete the anchovies. Sorry, purists.

Makes four servings.

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt & pepper
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 fresh eggs

4 fingerling potatoes, or 1/2 lb. red new potatoes
1/2 lb. fresh haricots vert (green beans)
12 stalks fresh asparagus

1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 lb. sushi-quality ahi tuna
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper

4 cups mesclun salad greens

In a bowl, mix together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice and parsley. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Set vinaigrette aside while prepping the rest of the salad.

With a pin, puncture one end of each egg and place in a small saucepan. Cover with water and put on a burner over high heat. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium. Cook the eggs for about 10 minutes, drain, cover with cold water and allow to cool. Remove from water, peel, and cut into quarters lengthwise.

Put the fingerling potatoes into another saucepan and cover with plenty of salted water. Put on high heat and bring to a boil. After about five minutes, add the green beans to the pot and cook for about a minute. Add the asparagus spears and cook it all for two minutes more. Check the potatoes with the tip of a sharp knife to make sure they're tender and done, and pour all the veggies into a colander to drain. After they cool, cut the potatoes into quarters lengthwise.

Place the ahi tuna on a plate and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip the fish and treat the other side the same. Put a saute pan on medium-high heat and when it's hot, put the ahi in. Sear it for about a minute to a minute-and-a-half, flip it and sear the other side for another minute or so. Put the seared fish into a cutting board to rest for a minute. Slice the tuna into 1/4-inch thick pieces.

In a stainless steel bowl, add the salad greens and dress with about 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette and toss to coat.

On four chilled dinner plates, arrange the green beans, asparagus and fingerling potato wedges around the edges. Pile some dressed greens in the middle of the plate and top with several slices of seared tuna. Arrange some olives, tomatoes and egg quarters around the salad. Drizzle some vinaigrette around the edges of the salad and serve.