Salade Niçoise

I recently returned from a spring break trip to Florida to build a Habitat for Huge Manatees, and I had a serious craving for healthy food.  Two twenty-four hour drives led to a lot of not-so-healthy eating.  We knew we had a problem when on day two we found ourselves in line for McDonald's breakfast complaining that the McDonald's we went to for breakfast the day before was so much faster.  I don't typically eat fast food unless it comes in the form of a Jimmy John's sandwich or Chipotle salads, so it was pretty sad that in a one-week period I ate McDonald's twice, Taco Bell, and Wendy's.  I also had my first Chik-fil-a experience.  And then there were the conch fritters, fried calamari, and fried alligator.  Those were all in one sitting.  I'm kind of surprised my heart is still beating.  

This is my friend Elizabeth and I on what I believe was our second trip to McD's.  We were waiting for Matt to come pick us up after he opted for Burger King breakfast.  And he calls me high maintenance...

We planned our driving so we could spend the first night in Nashville and enjoy some barbeque.  The people at our hotel recommended Jack's in downtown Nashville, and I enthusiastically second that recommendation.  


I got the pulled pork plate with mac n' cheese and coleslaw.  I now want to move to Nashville.  I could definitely eat barbeque every day for the rest of my life (okay, I would also require frequent doses of Mexican food), listen to live country music, and buy a bedazzler.  From our two hours spent in downtown Nashville, we learned that a bedazzler is a must.  I should also probably invest in more denim and dig out all of my camo clothes from my Carhartt-loving phase of high school.  Yes, we saw bedazzled jean jackets and a bedazzled camo baseball hat.  I love Nashville.  

Enough with the fried food and bedazzling (btw, blogger recognizes "bedazzling" as a word, but not "bedazzler").  I promised you something healthy.  I realize this isn't the most original recipe, but it is delicious and worth making.  

Ingredients (makes 2 entree salads):

2 tuna steaks

2 eggs

1 cup green beans

15-20 cherry or grape tomatoes

8 small potatoes

1/4 cup olives (Niçoise or a mix)

1 tbsp capers

Mixed greens

2-3 tbsp dijon mustard

2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar

4-6 tbsp olive oil

Start out by hard boiling the eggs.  I took this picture because I though the freakishly large egg was funny.  It's like the queen bee of the carton.  

These are the potatoes I used.  You could also use small new potatoes.  

I boiled more than necessary so I could have some leftovers.  Boil them until a fork goes into them without much resistance.  

Snap off the ends of the beans, and break them into about 1" pieces.  Rinse the tomatoes.  

Peel the eggs once they're cooked.  

Then slice them.  I took more pictures than necessary because I got some new plates and bowls earlier in the day, and I was excited to take some pictures with them.  My clumsy boyfriend broke one of my new plates a month ago, so I had to go to Pier 1 to replace it.  When I got there I found out that the store is closing so all of the dishes were 10% off (or 20% off if your cashier makes a mistake and he decides it's easier to just let it be), so I picked up a few new bowls and plates.  

Here are the capers hanging out with their big brothers, the olives.  

Rinse the greens. 

Rub the tuna steaks with a little olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.  

Cook the tuna in a pan or on your trusty George Foreman for 5-8 minutes.  

While the fish is cooking, make the dressing.  My mom gave me this handy dressing bottle, so I mixed it up in there.  It says champagne vinegar, but I used red wine instead.  Whatever kind of vinegar you have sitting around should be fine.  

Give it a shake, and you're good to go. 

Here's the tuna sitting on one of my new salad plates.  Lovely, aren't they?

Pile up some greens, pour on a little dressing, and arrange the remaining ingredients on top.  If you have some leftovers you can pile them into a baguette, pour yourself a glass of wine, and pretend that you're in France.  Bon apetit!