Salad Niçoise, Our Way

This is one of my favorite dinners.  I can't remember when P started making it, but I'm glad he did.  The sushi-grade tuna makes it special for a weekday dinner and fancy enough for company.  I love the crunch of the haricot verts and the warmth of the seared tuna and  creamy potatoes with the cool, crisp lettuce and tomatoes.

 Of course, we omit the niçoise stalwarts of olives and hard-boiled eggs, since I don't like them, but feel free to include them if you try this yourself

Our Salad Niçoise

Romaine, leaf or boston lettuce, cleaned

Haricot verts (or regular green beans)

Red Bliss or other small potatoes

Grape tomatoes

Tuna steak

Dressing:

Fancy mustard (coarse, Dijon, whatever)

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Apple cider vinegar

Salt, pepper

Herbes de Provence (optional)

Small shallot (optional)

Prep the beans: blanch small batches in rapidly boiling, generously salted water for about a minute, or until you hear beans start to "pop". Immerse immediately in ice water to shock. Once chilled, try thoroughly.

Throw the potatoes (whole) into the still-boiling water. Cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from water, let cool and dice.

Wash the grape tomatoes and split each in two.

Make the dressing: combine about a teaspoon of mustard with a 2:1 balsamic-to-apple cider vinegar blend. Add finely minced shallots and a nice pinch of herbes de Provence (if you're using them). Start whisking and drizzle in olive oil until volume is about doubled. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the tuna, rub each side with a little olive oil and season with coarse salt and coarsely ground pepper. Sear in a blazing hot grill pan for about 2 minutes on each side.

Let the tuna rest for a minute, slice up, and combine all the components however you like.