The finest French salad recipe that you may ever see, though you won't see it for long when everyone gets stuck in.
Ingredients
- 75ml extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 300g small new potatoes
- 100g green beans or shelled broad beans
- 4 free-range eggs, preferably organic
- 6 ripe tomatoes, cut into eighths
- Cos or little gem lettuce
- 225g can tuna in olive oil, not brine
- 2 tbsp capers
- Generous handful of good olives
- 8 anchovy fillets
Method
- 1. Mix the oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper together to make a dressing.
- 2. Boil the potatoes until tender and drain. Unless they are really tiny, break them or cut them in half, and toss with about a tablespoon of the dressing while still warm. Set aside. 3. Boil the beans until they are done as you like them, cool quickly (I plunge them into a bowl of cold water) and set aside.
- 4. Boil the eggs until the yolks are hardly set. A foolproof way to do this is to bring the water to a rolling boil, add the eggs and cook for 6 minutes exactly. When done, plunge them in cold water for a minute and peel (this is much easier if you do it before they have totally cooled).
- 5. Now build the salad. Toss the tomato, potato, lettuce, beans, tuna, capers and olives in the remaining dressing and either serve in a large bowl or as individual portions. Finish the top of the salad with the anchovies and quartered eggs. Whoever said you can’t get good food from Cannes?
Chef's tip
This is one of the finest salads the world over. The name is somewhat disingenuous as you can find variations all along the European coast of the Mediterranean.
Wine Recommendation
Fruity Chardonnays are lovely with this, but choose one that isn’t too oaky.