How To Make A Great Salad Nicoise

by: KerrisSamson
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A Salad Nicoise is more commonly referred to as a Nicoise Salad with the Nicoise being pronounced as "ni-suaz". This particular salad originates from the Nice region of France and consists of a number of different ingredients the details of which we provide below. However there are some restaurants which although offer a Salad Nicoise it is not what would be considered to be the classic version. Often they will include rice, potatoes, pasta, cheese or cooked vegetables into their recipe.

But the real beauty of this salad is that not only is relatively easy to prepare and make but the way in which the ingredients are presented. Not only does it contain lots of color and texture but it is full of flavors which combine well together. Below we list the ingredients as well as provide step by step instructions so that you can have a go at making this particular salad for yourself.

The ingredients you will need in order to make a Salad Nicoise to serve four people are as follows:- 1. 10 large and ripe tomatoes 2. 1 clove of garlic 3. 1 large cucumber 4. 1 green and one red pepper 5. 6 spring onions 6. 12 anchovy fillets which are in olive oil 7. 125g of black olives 8. 4 eggs that have been hard boiled 9. 90ml of olive oil (extra virgin is best) 10. 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar 11. Juice of one lemon 12. Assorted salad leaves (cos, rocket etc) plus a small amount of fresh Basil. Now let us go through the steps you will need to take in order to make your Salad Nicoise.

Step 1 - take the tomatoes, cut this into six pieces each, place them in a dish, and sprinkle a little salt over them. Allow them to stand for around hour as this allows any juices to drain out of them. Whilst preparing the tomatoes you can put the eggs on to cook. It is best if you allow around 5 minutes once the water is boiling to ensure that the eggs are hard boiled.

Step 2 - You need to take the cucumber and cut it along the length and then scoop out as many of the seeds as you can with a spoon. Now you next need to cut the cucumber, which has not been peeled into slices, but you should not make them to thin. After slicing up the cucumber, you next need to then finely slice both the peppers along with the spring onions.

Step 3 - Take the garlic clove remove the outer layer and then cut this in half and rub them around the inside of your salad bowl. If you are able to use a wooden bowl for placing the salad in.

Step 4 - Now you have prepared the bowl for serving the salad in you can start to place the ingredients into it. Firstly get the salad leaves which you have chosen (and which have been washed thoroughly) and lay these in the base of the bowl or bowls. Now on top of these you layer the tomatoes which have been previously cut in to sixths and allowed to drain. Then on top of these you place the hard boiled eggs which need to be cut into quarters. After the eggs you then add the sliced peppers, spring onions and cucumber before finally laying on top the anchovy fillets. Then finally you scatter the olives over the top.

Step 5 - The final thing you need to do before you can serve the Salad Nicoise to family or guests is make the dressing. In order to do this you take the lemon juice, olive oil and red wine vinegar and place in a bowl or jar before adding a small amount of freshly ground black pepper and salt to season. Once all the ingredients are together mix until well combined and then very slowly drizzle it over the salad. Finally take the fresh basil leaves and tear them up into pieces and sprinkle over the top of the salad. It really is that simple to make a great tasting Nicoise Salad.

About the Author

Here at SaladFacts.com we provide information and advice on everything to do with salads. But if you would like to learn more about making great dressings for your own salads click on the link provided.  

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