Best Asparagus Nicoise Salad Recipes

CLASSIC NICOISE SALAD

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl; drizzle with the wine and let cool. Reserve the saucepan.
• Meanwhile, bring a separate saucepan of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with salted ice water. Add the haricots verts to the boiling water; cook until crisp-tender and bright green, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to cool; drain and pat dry.
• Place the eggs in the reserved saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, then run under cold water to cool. Peel under cold running water.
• Make the dressing: Whisk the vinegar, shallot, mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
• Toss the tomatoes ian a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/4 cup dressing to the potatoes and toss. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs.
• Divide the lettuce among 4 plates. Arrange the potatoes, haricots verts, radishes, hard-cooked eggs and tuna on top. Pour any juices from the tomatoes into the dressing, then add the tomatoes to the plates. Drizzle with the dressing and top with the olives.

WARM ASPARAGUS SALAD

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water.
• Add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook until just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to the ice water. Once cooled, drain and pat dry and add to a medium bowl.
• Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the walnuts and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until just golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour mixture over the asparagus and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• To serve, transfer asparagus to a platter and scatter Parmesan on top. Drizzle with lemon juice and serve immediately.

ANY WAY NIçOISE

Steps:

• Whisk oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey, pepper, and 1 tsp. kosher salt in a medium bowl; set dressing aside.
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully add eggs and cook 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water (keep pot over high heat); chill until cold, about 5 minutes. Peel; set aside.
• Meanwhile, add green beans, asparagus, or potatoes to the same pot of boiling water and cook until just tender (if you are using a combination, cook vegetables separately), 2-4 minutes for green beans or asparagus, 10-15 minutes for potatoes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to bowl of ice water; let sit until cold, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels; pat dry.
• To serve, slice eggs in half and arrange on a platter with cooked and raw vegetables and protein. Top with pickled-briny ingredient(s), sprinkle with sea salt, and drizzle some reserved dressing over. Serve with remaining dressing alongside.
• Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 5 days ahead; cover and chill. Eggs can be boiled and vegetables blanched 2 days ahead; cover and chill separately.

TUNA, ASPARAGUS, AND NEW POTATO SALAD WITH CHIVE VINAIGRETTE AND FRIED CAPERS

Steps:

• For vinaigrette:
• Puree first 5 ingredients in blender until smooth. With machine running, gradually add vegetable oil, then olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
• For salad:
• Cook asparagus in large skillet of boiling salted water until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer asparagus to 13x9x2-inch pan of ice water to cool. Drain asparagus and pat dry. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Wrap in paper towels, then plastic, and chill.
• Place potatoes in large saucepan. Add enough water to cover potatoes by 1 inch. Sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on size of potatoes. Drain; let cool 5 minutes. Place in medium bowl. Add 1/4 cup vinaigrette; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add capers and fry until capers are crisp and open like flowers, stirring often, 45 to 60 seconds. Using slotted spoon, transfer capers to paper towels to drain. DO AHEAD: Potatoes and capers can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
• Place asparagus in large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and toss to coat. Toss potatoes again to coat, adding 1 more tablespoon vinaigrette if dry. Place greens and radishes in another large bowl. Toss with enough vinaigrette to coat. Spread greens and radishes over large platter. Arrange potatoes, asparagus, eggs, and tuna atop greens. Drizzle some vinaigrette over tuna. Sprinkle with fried capers and chive blossoms, if desired.

SEARED TUNA & ASPARAGUS NIçOISE

Steps:

• Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for 12 mins, or until a cutlery knife can be easily inserted. Transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon and leave to steam-dry. Add the asparagus to the pan and boil for 2 mins, then put in a bowl of ice-cold water and set aside.
• Bring another pan of water to the boil over a medium-high heat and cook the eggs for 7½ mins. Drain, then add the eggs to the bowl of water with the asparagus.
• For the dressing, bash the anchovies and garlic together using a pestle and mortar until you have a very smooth paste. Tip this into a bowl, then whisk in the extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season.
• To sear the tuna, heat the olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook for 1-2 mins on each side, just until it has a slightly golden colour. Slice into thick pieces (it should still be pink in the middle), then peel and halve the eggs.
• Toss the potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes, olives, caper berries and dressing together on a large serving platter. Top with the eggs and tuna slices, then season well and serve.