Seared Tuna Niçoise-ish Salad with Creamy Caper Dressing
Published May 03, 2024
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A French salade niçoise is an ideal easy-breezy meal to prepare on a hot day. The toppings are all raw or steamed and can be made in advance. In this version, I cut back on the ingredient list (No hard-boiled egg or tomato here!) Instead, I make each component the best it can be for year-round dining. The potatoes get crisped in the oven, the olives warmed, the green beans sautéed with shallots. The tuna is a gorgeous yellowfin steak that gets seared until medium-rare. To take this salad over the top, the dressing is a salty, herby, biting combination of Dijon, capers, parsley, and lemon juice. It’s a salad that’s chic enough for company (it’s French, after all), but not so labor-intensive that you can’t get it together in under an hour for a weeknight meal.
Seared Tuna Niçoise-ish Salad with Creamy Caper Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby red potatoes or fingerlings, , halved
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Fine sea salt
- 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 1½ pounds yellowfin tuna steaks, (about 2)
- 2 garlic cloves, , smashed
- 4 thyme sprigs, , or ½ teaspoon dried leaves
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 8 ounces haricots verts or green beans, , trimmed
- 1 large shallot, , sliced
- 5 ounces baby arugula, (4 cups, packed)
- 2 cups roughly chopped radicchio, (from ½ small head)
- 1 cup Creamy Caper Dressing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.
- On the prepared pan, toss together the potatoes, 2 tablespoons of oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt to coat. Arrange the potatoes cut-side down. Roast until browned on the bottom and the skin is puckered on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the olives to the pan and bake for 3 minutes more, or until the olives are heated through and juicy. Set aside.
- While the potatoes roast, place the tuna steaks in a medium bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil, the garlic, thyme, and lemon zest. Season lightly with salt and slosh the steaks around until coated well, rubbing the garlic and thyme onto the steaks. Set aside at room temperature.
- In a large heavy-bottomed skillet like cast iron, heat a thin layer, about ⅛ inch of oil over medium-high heat. Add the green beans and shallot. Sauté until the beans are al dente, about 5 minutes. If the beans are charring but not getting cooked through, add a few tablespoons of water and they will steam. Season with salt and transfer to a plate.
- Wipe out any remnants of shallot from the skillet and add another thin layer, about ⅛ inch of oil. Raise the heat to high. Once the oil is just shy of smoking, add the tuna steaks, leaving behind the garlic and thyme sprigs. Sear until the bottom is browned, but the fish isn’t opaque all the way up the sides, about 2 minutes. Flip the steaks and repeat on the opposite side for 1 minute for medium-rare, or longer if you want it cooked through. Transfer the tuna to a work surface and let rest for a few minutes before slicing.
- Assemble the salad. On a large serving platter, scatter the arugula and radicchio. Pile the crispy potatoes and olives, sautéed green beans, and tuna slices in sections. Drizzle with half the dressing and serve the remainder on the side.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Creamy Caper Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 6 tablespoons capers, , drained (from one 3-ounce jar)
- ¼ cup tightly packed fresh parsley leaves
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, (from 2 lemons)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a small food processor or blender, pulse the mustard, mayonnaise, capers, parsley, lemon juice, and salt until finely chopped. With the machine running, slowly stream in the oil and puree until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, as needed. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
