France · Nice-style composition

Salade Niçoise

Name: Salade Niçoise
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Niçoise
Ingredients: 2 large eggs; 300 g ripe tomatoes (about 3 medium); 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt; 50 g mesclun or small tender salad leaves; 6 radishes, trimmed and halved lengthwise; 1/2 cucumber (about 150 g), thinly sliced; 1 small green bell pepper (about 100 g), thinly sliced; 2 spring onions, thinly sliced; 1 tender inner celery stalk (about 50 g), thinly sliced; 100 g good-quality tuna in olive oil, drained in large pieces; 8 anchovy fillets, drained; 60 g small black olives, preferably Niçoise; 1 garlic clove, halved; 8 basil leaves, torn; 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (60 ml); Freshly ground black pepper

Ripe tomatoes and raw summer vegetables arranged with tuna, anchovies, eggs and tiny black olives, then finished simply with basil and olive oil.

Jump to recipe

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 35 min
Serves: 4
Role: Side dish

Why this composition works

A composed salad, not a checklist

The ingredients remain distinct. Tomatoes, crisp raw vegetables, tuna, anchovies, egg, olives, basil and olive oil remain distinct instead of disappearing under a heavy dressing.

Cucumber is named as a variation. The Cuisine Nissarde committee lists cucumber as an accepted variation. This version includes it and omits the committee recipe’s seasonal tender artichokes and broad beans; those are separate choices, not a direct substitution.

Strong accents are distributed. Tuna, anchovy, olive and egg appear around the platter so a diner can compose balanced forkfuls rather than meet all the salt in one corner.

The recipe

Ingredients

For 4 servings

2 large eggs
300 g ripe tomatoes (about 3 medium)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
50 g mesclun or small tender salad leaves
6 radishes, trimmed and halved lengthwise
1/2 cucumber (about 150 g), thinly sliced
1 small green bell pepper (about 100 g), thinly sliced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 tender inner celery stalk (about 50 g), thinly sliced
100 g good-quality tuna in olive oil, drained in large pieces
8 anchovy fillets, drained
60 g small black olives, preferably Niçoise
1 garlic clove, halved
8 basil leaves, torn
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (60 ml)
Freshly ground black pepper

This is one carefully defined Nice-style version, not a claim that every Niçoise platter must look identical. Taste salty accents with the vegetables before adjusting; the approach in How to Season a Salad is especially useful here.

Method

Compose the platter

Cook and cool the eggs
Lower the eggs into gently boiling water and cook for 9 minutes. Transfer them immediately to cold water. When cool, peel and quarter them; the yolks should be set but still tender rather than chalky.
Prepare the raw vegetables
Cut the tomatoes into generous wedges over a plate so their juice is retained. Season them with the sea salt and leave for 5 minutes. Prepare the radishes, cucumber, green pepper, spring onions, and celery while the tomatoes release a little juice.
Build the foundation
Rub a wide serving platter lightly with the cut garlic. Scatter over the mesclun, then arrange the tomatoes and all their juice across the leaves. Distribute the remaining raw vegetables in a loose, even layer rather than piling them in the center.
Add the defining accents
Set the tuna in large flakes around the platter. Add the egg quarters, anchovy fillets, and black olives so each serving can receive some of every accent. Keep the arrangement open enough that the vegetables remain visible.
Finish at the last moment
Scatter over the torn basil, drizzle evenly with the olive oil, and grind over black pepper. Taste a tomato with tuna or anchovy before adding any more salt. Serve without heavily tossing, while the vegetables remain crisp and distinct.

Restraint makes it legible

Let every ingredient keep its outline

Tomatoes

Choose fragrant fruit and capture every drop of juice. Salt briefly so the platter develops its own savory liquor.

Raw vegetables

Slice thinly enough to share a forkful, but not so thinly that radish, pepper and cucumber lose their different snaps.

Tuna

Drain gently and keep broad flakes. Fine shreds spread fish through every bite and make the composition feel muddled.

Anchovies

Use them as deliberate salty accents. Arrange whole fillets so diners can see and portion their intensity.

Olives

Small black Niçoise olives are ideal; other good black olives can stand in. If they contain stones, tell everyone at the table.

Olive oil

Drizzle last and use no more than the vegetables can carry. Tomato juice and oil should pool lightly, not drown the leaves.

The cooked-vegetable question

Boiled potatoes and green beans are familiar in many international versions of Niçoise salad. The Cuisine Nissarde label instead centers tomatoes and raw local vegetables, with only the eggs cooked. This recipe follows that raw-vegetable direction while acknowledging that the cooked version is a widespread, established variation rather than a mistake.

Seasonal ingredients

Tender baby artichokes and fresh broad beans appear in the committee recipe when in season. Add them if you can source examples meant to be eaten raw: trim artichokes to the tender hearts and slice finely; use young broad beans without forcing mature, starchy ones into the bowl. Their absence is better than a poor substitute.

Serve without hiding the structure

Niçoise is well suited to a wide platter. Lay ingredients flat enough that each serving can gather tomatoes, vegetables and one or two savory accents. Assemble close to serving, keep the tuna in oil until needed, and refrigerate cooked eggs and opened fish promptly. Leftovers will soften and are best treated as a next-day lunch rather than a make-ahead strategy.

A protected local point of view

Arguments about Niçoise ingredients often compare different things: a codified Nice tradition, family and restaurant variations, and the potato-and-green-bean forms popular far beyond the city. The Cuisine Nissarde technical committee provides a valuable local reference, but its recipe does not erase the dish’s broader life. This page states clearly where its choices come from.

Research source: Nice Côte d’Azur Tourist Office and the Cuisine Nissarde Technical Committee.