A timeless French classic with a California twist, this Mediterranean Niçoise Salad with Seared Ahi is Chef Owen Snyder’s vibrant ode to fresh, seasonal ingredients. Crisp green beans, tender new potatoes, and ripe plum tomatoes mingle with briny olives, hard-cooked eggs, and delicate slices of perfectly seared ahi tuna. A lively Dijon and red wine vinaigrette ties everything together, adding just the right balance of tang, richness, and herbal brightness.
Beautifully arranged on a platter, this salad is as stunning as it is satisfying—a complete meal that celebrates simplicity, balance, and the Mediterranean way of eating.
INGREDIENTS:
Salad
8 new potatoes, about 1 pound, scrubbed
2 pounds green beans, cooked
10 ripe plum tomatoes
1 purple onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Niçoise olives
1/4 cup rough chopped Italian parsley
6 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
1 8 oz. ahi tuna filet
Dressing
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Fresh snipped chives
METHOD:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender but still firm. Drain, cool slightly, and cut into quarters. Place in a large mixing bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Set aside.
Add the green beans, tomatoes, onion, olives, and parsley to the bowl of potatoes. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then pour in about ¼ cup of the dressing. Toss gently to coat.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick sauté pan over high heat. Season the tuna fillet on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the tuna in the hot pan and sear for about 1½–2 minutes per side, or until a ¼–½ inch band of cooked flesh appears around the edges, leaving the center rare. Remove from the pan and rest briefly on paper towels.
Transfer the salad to a large serving platter, arranging the ingredients in a circular pattern. Nestle the quartered eggs around the edges. Slice the tuna thinly (¼ inch thick) and lay it neatly over the salad. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and scatter snipped chives on top. Serve immediately.
YIELD: 4 servings
SOURCE: Recipe courtesy of Chef Owen Snyder of Papa O’s
