Can I say that salad is my favorite food? Is that cheating? You know what? I don’t even care. I LOVE SALAD. I am a salad addict, my mother before me was (and still is) a salad addict, her mother before her was a salad addict…you get the picture. I especially love salads that are organized, because I’m the opposite of organized and thus have a special admiration for perfectly compartmentalized, impossibly neat salads like this one.
I’ve been wanting to make a vegetarian nicoise ever since my mom mentioned having one…somewhere. I can’t remember where. Mom? Anyway, tempeh stands in for tuna in this version, and it definitely makes this a full-meal salad if you want it to be. I love the way the slightly nutty tempeh soaks up the lemony vinaigrette, and steaming it first makes it much milder in case you’re introducing someone to tempeh for the first time.
I’ll be very honest here – this is pretty time-consuming for a salad. Especially when you’re accustomed to just digging through the fridge for anything that remotely resembles a plant and throwing it in a bowl, usually ending up with something like this:
Side note of shame: guess how many people that salad is for? Oh, it must be for a dinner party, right? Why else would it be in a bowl with an eighteen inch diameter?
It’s for two people. TWO. Me and my tiny, tiny mom. And we ate the entire thing. And this was not a one-time occurrence. I told you, we love salad.
Anyway, back to the salad at hand. Yes, it takes time, but it’s mostly just because you have to steam pretty much everything that goes into it. So, time-consuming but easy. And totally, totally worth it. Once you have everything beautifully lined up on a platter atop a bed of butter lettuce, lightly coated in the refreshing, herby dressing, you won’t be thinking about how much time it took to make. You’ll be thinking about how fancy and Fronch you feel while you inhale your second helping.
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb new or fingerling potatoes (quartered for new, halved for fingerling)
- 1 8 oz package tempeh, sliced once lengthwise and cut into one inch pieces
- ½ lb haricot verts (French green beans), cut into 2-inch pieces
- ½ small red onion, sliced thin
- ½ lb cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ⅓ cup Nicoise or kalamata olives
- 2 heads Bibb or butter lettuce, chopped
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
- Heat about an inch of water in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Arrange potatoes evenly in a steamer basket and place in the pot. Cover and steam for 20 minutes, until potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife. Set aside to cool slightly, then toss with ¼ cup of dressing.
- In the same pot, place the tempeh in the steamer basket. Cover and steam for 10 minutes, then remove and toss with ¼ cup of dressing. Set aside.
- Add additional water to the pot if necessary, then place the green beans in the steamer basket. Steam for 3-4 minutes (they should still be crisp). Remove and toss with ¼ cup of dressing.
- Combine tomatoes and sliced red onion in a small bowl and toss with ¼ cup of dressing.
- While any of the above are steaming, toss the lettuce with ¼ cup of dressing, then place on a large platter. When the cooked ingredients are room temperature, arrange them individually on the bed of lettuce, and add the tomato mixture, olives, and eggs. Drizzle the salad with any remaining dressing and serve immediately.
Source: adapted from Cook’s Illustrated via Simply Recipes
It must be a family thing…Sadieann makes a fabulous salad as well. I’ve never had tempeh, but this salad looks so yummy. š
I think it is a family thing – and you make a mean salad yourself!
This looks awesome. I am feeling way lazier than awesome. Can you have me over for dinner?