RESET360 with Camille McLaughlin
March Pick: Lunch

Salmon Niçoise Salad

Roasted salmon over butter lettuce with crisp green beans, eggs, cherry tomatoes, radishes, and Niçoise olives in a lemony anchovy vinaigrette.

Why you'll love Salmon Niçoise Salad

Salade niçoise comes from Nice on the French Riviera, and it is a composed salad: each part is cooked or cut on its own and laid out on the platter, so you taste every one. Here roasted salmon takes the center, flaked into big, tender pieces, with green beans, eggs, tomatoes, radishes, and the small, purple-black Niçoise olives the salad is named for. It is a lunch that feels like the first warm day of March.

The vinaigrette pulls it together. Minced shallot sits in the lemon juice for a few minutes first, which softens its bite, then mashed anchovy and Dijon go in with the olive oil. The anchovy melts into the dressing and gives it a deep, savory backbone, the way it does in the original. Salmon roasts at high heat on a sheet pan just until it flakes, so it stays moist and silky.

Every part can be cooked ahead, so on a busy day the salad is a matter of arranging a plate. The beans stay crisp because they go into ice water the moment they come out of the pot.

Quick overview: This Salmon Niçoise Salad takes 20 min of hands-on time and about 45 min in all and makes 4 servings, each 1 composed salad with about 5 oz salmon. You'll need a saucepan and a sheet pan.

Jump to recipe

Salmon niçoise salad with eggs, green beans, tomatoes and olives
Prep 20 minCook 25 minTotal 45 minServes 4Serving 1 composed salad with about 5 oz salmonYou'll need Saucepan, Sheet pan

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 lb skin-on salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 3/4 tsp fine sea salt, divided, plus more for the cooking water
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 large eggs
  • 8 oz thin green beans (haricots verts), trimmed
  • 1 small shallot, finely minced
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 4 anchovy fillets in olive oil, finely minced Label: anchovies, olive oil, and salt
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard Label: mustard seed, vinegar, water, and salt
  • 2 heads butter lettuce, leaves separated, washed, and dried
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 6 radishes, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup Niçoise olives Label: olives, water, and salt
  • 2 tbsp capers, rinsed Label: capers, water, vinegar, and salt
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven: Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment.
  2. Cook the eggs: Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Lower the eggs in gently with a spoon and boil for 10 minutes, then move them to a bowl of ice water. Starting them in boiling water makes them easier to peel, and the ice bath stops the yolks at just set, golden instead of gray-green at the edge.
  3. Blanch the green beans: Salt the same boiling water generously, add the green beans, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bright green and crisp-tender. Scoop them into the ice water with the eggs. The cold stops the cooking right away, which keeps them snappy and vivid.
  4. Make the vinaigrette: Stir the shallot into the lemon juice in a small jar with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and let it sit for 5 minutes; the acid takes the raw edge off the shallot. Add the anchovies and Dijon and mash them against the side of the jar with a fork, then add 1/3 cup of the olive oil, close the lid, and shake until creamy.
  5. Roast the salmon: Pat the salmon dry, set it skin side down on the sheet pan, brush it with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Roast for 10 to 14 minutes, until it flakes easily at the thickest point and reads 145°F (63°C). Let it cool for a few minutes, then lift the flesh off the skin in large pieces.
  6. Prepare the rest: Peel and halve the eggs. Drain the green beans and pat them dry, since water on the beans dilutes the dressing.
  7. Compose the salad: Line four plates or a large platter with the lettuce. Arrange the green beans, tomatoes, radishes, eggs, and salmon in their own sections over the top, then scatter the olives, capers, and parsley. Shake the vinaigrette again, spoon it over everything, and serve with a little extra on the side.

Storage and leftovers

Keep the cooked salmon, eggs, green beans, and vinaigrette in separate covered containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and assemble each salad when you eat it. Peeled eggs hold best in a sealed container lined with a damp paper towel.

The vinaigrette firms up in the refrigerator because olive oil thickens when cold. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and shake it before using. Once dressed, the salad is best eaten within the hour.

Variations

  • Seared salmon: Sear the salmon skin side down in a hot skillet with a little olive oil for 4 to 5 minutes, flip, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, for a crisp skin to eat with the salad.
  • Fresh tuna: Sear thick ahi tuna steaks for 1 to 2 minutes a side for the classic version, slicing them thin.
  • Artichoke hearts: Add quartered artichoke hearts with a label of artichokes, water, salt, and lemon or citric acid.
  • With fresh herbs: Scatter torn basil or chopped chervil over the platter in place of the parsley once the herbs come into season.

Notes and tips

  • Find Niçoise olives: They are small, firm, and nutty, often sold at the olive bar or in jars near the capers. Buy them by the label: olives, water, and salt, with herbs or vinegar if any. Their pits are left in, so warn your table.
  • Cook to the thermometer: Salmon portions vary in thickness. Start checking at 10 minutes so it comes out moist.
  • Mince the anchovy fine: The finer it is, the more completely it melts into the dressing and the less anyone will pick it out.
  • Season each part: A pinch of salt on the tomatoes and eggs as you arrange them makes every part of a composed salad taste finished.

Nutrition and mindful eating

  • Salmon brings protein and the long-chain omega-3 fats, and roasting it gently keeps it moist.
  • Eggs add more protein and choline, which is why this salad holds you like a full meal.
  • Olive oil, olives, and the fat in the salmon and egg yolks are the real fats on the plate, and they carry the flavor of the vinaigrette into every leaf.
  • Green beans, tomatoes, radishes, and lettuce bring fiber, water, and crunch, and their fiber slows how fast the meal leaves your stomach.
  • As you eat, notice how each part of the plate tastes on its own and then together, and check in through the afternoon: a lunch built this way should keep you comfortably full for 4 hours or more with no slump around three o'clock.

Frequently asked questions

Have a question about this Salmon Niçoise Salad? Start here, with the questions people ask most.

Can I use canned salmon?

Yes. Two cans of wild salmon with a label of salmon and salt, drained and broken into large flakes, skip the roasting.

What can I use if I cannot find Niçoise olives?

Look at the olive bar first, since many stores carry them there. Any small, brine-cured black olive with a label of olives, water, and salt fits the salad.

Is the salad served warm or cold?

Either way. Warm salmon over cool vegetables is lovely, and all of it cold from the refrigerator makes an easy packed lunch.

Can I make the dressing ahead?

Yes. It keeps in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Shake it well before using.

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Tags: March Pick, Lunch, French, Dairy-Free