Funny story about this recipe. Besides being epically delicious, it’s missing one main component of a nicoise salad: a boiled egg.
ARGH! After I photographed this dish for the post, I realized I had forgotten to top the salad with the boiled egg. Once I realized it, I had already tucked it neatly away in the refrigerator in a glass container for leftovers.
So, today’s recipe is written with a hard boiled egg, BUT, there’s no egg in the pictures. You’ve got a good imagination, right?
I felt so silly, I even took a picture of the hard boiled egg afterwards:
Ha! The silver lining? I have leftover boiled eggs for snacks this week! Boiled eggs are really versatile – you can throw them with some dijon mustard and Greek yogurt and make a quick egg salad. Or, you can mix chopped boiled eggs in a bowl with a little avocado, a drizzle of lime juice and some salt and pepper and enjoy it smeared over toast.
But today’s recipe isn’t about this missing boiled egg – it’s about eating creatively, yet healthily. I’ve always loved tuna nicoise salads – they just have so much to them – tuna, egg, green beans, salad, potatoes, olives. They’re really one of those “I’m in the mood for every flavor possible” dishes. And I’m always in that mood!
Typically, the potatoes in tuna nicoise salads are cubed and either boiled/steamed or roasted. BO-ring! We know better than that, here at Inspiralized. Gosh, I’ve been spinning too much, I sound like my spin instructor – “you can do better than thaaaaaaat!!”
Spiralizing the potatoes helps add extra flavor – I simply seasoned them with salt, pepper and garlic powder, but you could add any spices to the potatoes (like chili powder) to give them an extra oomph.
When you eat the potatoes as noodles, you eat them slower and not as much (a spiralized potato yields a lot more noodles than a cubed potato yields cubes, if that makes sense.) Plus, you’re eating a noodle salad, not a chopped salad, which, is WAY cooler.
Can you tell I like spiralizing yet?
This tuna is shown as lightly seared, but if you’re not a fan of the rare stuff, just sear it an extra 2 minutes on each side to get a well-done tuna. If you don’t have access to fresh tuna at your local market, substitute in canned tuna instead – it does the trick.
Make sure you get white albacore tuna (it packs three times more omega-3s than light tuna!) A note about canned tuna (especially white albacore): eat it in moderation, it has higher levels of mercury, as albacore tunas are generally larger fish. I like Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna (in water.)
Plus, this salad originated in Nice, France and if you don’t know already, I’m obsessed with everything French. I took French for almost 10 years and I even went to Montreal for French immersion camp when I was younger. Nerd alert!
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Spiralized Tuna Nicoise Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound fresh green beans cut into 1” pieces
- 1 cup halved heirloom cherry tomatoes
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives
- ½ small onion thinly sliced
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound potatoes peeled, Blade C, noodles trimmed
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 oz tuna steak
- For the dressing:
- 2.5 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot filled halfway with water to a boil. Once boiling, add in the green beans and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain into a colander and place in a large mixing bowl along with the tomatoes, olives, and onions. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, place the eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with water and a pinch of salt. Cover and bring to a roaring boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and let stand for 12-14 minutes to hard boil. When done, rinse under cold water until able to be handled. Peel the eggs and halve. Set aside.
- While eggs and green beans cook, whisk all ingredients for the vinaigrette together and set aside.
- In a large skillet, place in the olive oil. Once oil heats, add in the potato noodles, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes or until cooked all the way through, uncovering occasionally to toss.
- Once potatoes are cooked, add to the bowl with the green beans and veggies and pour in the vinaigrette. Set aside.
- Season both sides of the tuna steak with salt and pepper, pressing the pepper into the tuna. Pour the lemon juice over the tuna. Wipe down the large skillet and place it back over medium heat. Once heated, add in the seasoned tuna and sear for 1-2 minutes, flip over and sear another 1-2 minutes. If you prefer your tuna well done and not rare, cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until done to your preference.
- Divide the potato noodle mixture into bowls and top each bowl with 1/3 of the tuna and 1 hard boiled egg. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper and enjoy immediately.
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