Ahi Tuna Niçoise Salad Recipe

A salad like this classic Niçoise is best served cobb-style, which means presenting all of the ingredients on a platter without tossing. This recipe features traditional briney French Niçoise olives, cherry tomatoes, baby potatoes, green beans, jammy soft boiled eggs, and seared ahi tuna—all fresh, beautiful components that deserve to be seen!

To make the dressing

1. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, and white wine vinegar. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To make the salad

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and place the eggs into it. Boil eggs for 7 minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool.
2. To the same pot of water used to boil the eggs, add trimmed green beans and boil for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse green beans under cold water, then set aside.
3. Trim the bases of lettuce heads and discard the first few outer leaves. Separate remaining leaves, transfer to a colander, and rinse with cold water. Shake the excess water from the leaves or use a salad spinner to dry, then arrange lettuce on a large serving platter.
4. Slice tomatoes in half and add to lettuce. Place olives onto lettuce.
5. Place baby potatoes in a microwave safe bowl and cover with a wet paper towel. Microwave for about 4 minutes, or until soft and easily pierced. Set aside to cool.
6. In a nonstick pan, warm the vegetable oil on high heat until very hot. Season each side of the tuna with salt and pepper, then carefully place into the hot oil. Cook for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook another 2 minutes for a rare, very pink center. Remove from pan and let cool while you build the salad.
7. Peel eggs and slice each in half lengthwise, then arrange atop lettuce. Add potatoes and green beans to the platter.
8. Slice tuna thinly against the grain and place on top of salad. Add a few big handfuls of each fresh herb to the salad. Pour your desired amount of dressing over the top before tossing, or serve with dressing on the side.

   Farm Team Tips

   The key to a stunning presentation of Niçoise salad is keeping all the salad additions small so that you can pack more ingredients onto the plater: that's why cherry tomatoes and baby potatoes are favored over their larger counterparts. The inner leaves of butter lettuce are the perfect size for scooping up these ingredients.

   Though it's not quite as flavorful, high quality flaked tuna from a can can be used in a pinch to replace the seared ahi tuna.

   Depending on seasonal availability, the green beans can be replaced with asparagus or sliced zucchini.