Well okay, it is October and salads are best enjoyed during the warmer months but I have found them refreshing during late autumn aswell. Similar to a Niçoise salad, the textures are complimentary, velvet-like here and crispy there, which gives it great character.
This is similar to the French Niçoise Salad, which is often made with eggs as a main ingredient. I didn't have eggs at home so I started fishing around for tuna salad alternatives. An Italian version was the way to go. Overall, it is such an undemanding plate of mixed greens with next to no time spent at the oven, only to blanch the green beans. Simple!
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 seconds
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
450g thin green beans, ends removed
1/2 small onion, very thinly sliced
140g canned Italian or Spanish tuna in olive oil
coarse sea salt
3 ripe tomatoes, quartered
75g-100g green olives
juice of 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
mixed salad leaves
Instructions:
1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath.
2. Drop the green beans into the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Remove immediately and place in an ice bath. Once beans have cooled, drain thoroughly and blot dry with paper towels so no moisture appears.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves on each plate, Scatter with onions, tomatoes, olives with big chunks of tuna on top along with some of the oil from the can.
4. Drizzle with lemon juice and lots of extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.