Francine bon appetit

Summer is for salads!!

When school is out, I am ready to cook and become more creative in the kitchen. Goodbye to the days of the school year when we rush home from work and cook whatever because we run out of time!! In the summer I also like to cook dishes from the warm regions of France like Provence or any place in the sunny South. It is time for a salade nicoise! There are a lot of variations on this recipe but as long as you have the olives, the tuna, the vegetables and the olive oil dressing you are good to go!! With good crispy French or Italian bread this is a full meal!

This recipe brings back a lot of memories of my childhood when my parents used to pack the car in July/August and drive to the Cote d'Azur to vacation on the French Riviera. Good times!!

This is a specialty of Nice but is served all over the South East coast of France. It is very healthy too!

Salade Nicoise

Ingredients:

1 head butter lettuce

2 boiled potatoes

1/2 lb cooked green beans

1 can well drained tuna

1/2 cucumber thinly sliced

2 peeled tomatoes cut in wedges

2 hard boiled eggs quartered

1 green pepper cut into strips

1 Walla Walla or red onion sliced

1 can flat anchovy fillets

10 nicoise black olives

Line an oval platter with lettuce leaves. Arrange potatoes in the middle. Arrange green beans around. Sprinkle the tuna over the potatoes. Put cucumbers slices around. Place tomato and egg quarters in a spoke fashion. Put slices of onions and strips of pepper here and there. Place the anchovy fillets in a star fashion or in a lattice fashion and place olives in-between. Pour vinaigrette over just before serving.

A vinaigrette with olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar is the best. Enjoy!

Serves 6 persons.