Trés Bon Salad Nicoise! MELISSA HORNUNG

Salad Nicoise is a traditional french salad that can be enjoyed any time of the year however,  it is particularly pleasuarable around the warmer months. You will mostly see this salad assembled with blanched beans, slices of tomato, egg halves, garbanzo beans otherwise know as chicked peas, avacados and served along side some sort of meat like tuna or chicken on a bed of mixed greens.  I prefer butter lettuce with this, also called Bibb or Boston lettuce. I added chopped roasted peacans or almonds to the mix and this salad is usually topped with some sort of olive oil based dressing containing herbs de Provence. 

 I made this one with only what I had in the garden and in my cupboard and fridge, sliced eggs from the girls (our chickens), blanched green beans, avocado slices, chick peas and mixed leafy lettuce from the garden and the. topped it with chopped walnuts and olive oil dressing that has a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and some herbs de Provence mixed together with 1/4 cup of olive oil then shaken vigorously......not stirred (couldn't resist 😂)  You can add a side of fish, chicken or shrimp. The key to it's presentation is in alining all ingredients uniformly to give it that "Je Ne sais quio". 

In the words of French Chef Royalty Julia Childs, who was really American  "Bon Appetite!" And don't forget the wine, I recommend Sauvignon Blanc with this! For sure Julia would approve!