Classic Niçoise Salad

Niçoise Salad featuring FishWife's Classic Smoky Trio 

INGREDIENTS

For the Salad:

• 16 oz baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes
• 12 oz green beans, stems removed
• 6 large eggs
• 16 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced into halves
• 1 large English cucumber, sliced into discs
• 6 oz pitted Nicoise olives (you can substitute Castelvetrano or Kalamata olives if I can't find Nicoise)
• 2-3 cans tinned fish (I used FishWife's Classic Smoky Trio of salmon, trout, and tuna), drained
• 10 oz marinated artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/4 cup capers, drained
• Fresh chives for garnish

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup aged red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Halve potatoes and place them on a cookie sheet. Coat potatoes with extra-virgin oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the center of the oven and cook for 25-30 min or until cooked through.
3. Prep 2 ice baths with ice and very cold water, one in a large bowl for the green beans and one in a medium bowl for the eggs. Reserve to the side.
4. While the potatoes cook, bring a medium pot of water to boil. Once the water reaches boiling, gently lower your eggs into the water with a slotted spoon and cook for 6 ½ minutes (set that timer!), adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle boil if necessary. Once the timer goes off, carefully remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place them into your reserved medium ice bath to chill for 2 minutes or more. Crack, peel, and slice each egg in half. Reserve to the side until ready to plate.
5. In another large pot over medium-high heat, add 3 quarts of water, and 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt. Carefully transfer the green beans to the pot of boiling water (I find it safest to do this with tongs) and allow to cook for 2 minutes, then remove the pan from heat and carefully transfer the green beans immediately to the reserved ice bath to cool.
6. For the Dijon Vinaigrette, combine all ingredients together. If you desire, you can blitz it in a blender for a few seconds. I like to keep mine as is.
7. On a large platter, compose your salad as desired. I prefer to start with green beans fanning out at either end as they are hearty and can handle other things layering on top. Then plate the potatoes, cucumber, olives, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. I like to place the fish close to the center so it's easy to grab a bit of it from any side of the platter. Drizzle everything with the Dijon Vinaigrette and finish with a sprinkle of fresh chives and capers.