Oh Provence–you are just magical.

There’s a lot not to be said for being a Ph.D. student: the pay is poor, the hours are long, and so on. But, at least in my field, there is one major, major perk: the freedom to work remotely for months at a time. And so it happened that, on a bit of a whim, I sublet my apartment, hopped on a flight, and landed in Provence.And why not Provence? In many ways, it reminds me of the very best parts of my native California. The weather is utterly perfect: warm, dry days give way to cool, breezy nights. The people are friendly and laid-back. And the food–oh, the food! Day after day of the freshest produce: acidic tomatoes, drip-down-your-arm peaches, and loads of every kind of veg you could imagine piling up daily in outdoor markets.Add to those familiar elements true French specialties–the tangiest goat cheese, the crispest rosés, the impossibly charming small towns, the smell of lavender that floats across the plateaus, the cafés and bars that spill out into town squares or hide in courtyard gardens–and you have the recipe for a perfect summer.

The absolute bounty of fresh produce and the endless, sun-drenched days have moved me into a different kind of cooking. Instead of planning and shopping for the whole week at once, I’ve been ambling down to the outdoor market every morning before starting my work for the day. There, I’ve been picking up whatever looks good (read: everything), and turning it into a fresh, simple, flavorful dinner each evening.

The recipes I’ll be sharing over the next few weeks will be inspired by the way I’ve been cooking here: lots of excellent produce and not much actual cooking. They’re also kind of non-recipe recipes–more suggestions that you can fiddle with based on taste and what you have around, which is exactly as I’ve been cooking since I’ve been in France. And you know what? I’ve loved every meal.

There’s no better place to start than the salade niçoise. Niçoise is the adjective for “of Nice,” the major French city that hugs the Mediterranean coast southeast of Provence. This salad is piled high with regional produce–juicy tomatoes, waxy potatoes, crisp green beans–and adds to it the tuna and anchovies from the Mediterranean. It’s a full meal, but it doesn’t weigh you down.

 

If you were to ask around in these parts about the “correct” way to make a salade niçoise, I would guess you’d get about as many answers as people you asked. Some say that nothing on the salad should be cooked but the egg. Others say you may use tuna or anchovies, but not both. Etc.

 

I say: taste is personal. The weather is stunning. And if this is supposed to be easy cooking, then why not do your own thing? So below, find a recipe for salade niçoise the way I like it, with plenty of options for how you might like it, too. The only thing that’s really critical is using the very best tomatoes and olives you can find. Bon appétit!

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Salade niçoise, my way or yours

Serving size easily adjusted–see below

Ingredients

Salad
Head of mild lettuce, such as butter lettuce or romaine
Green beans (one small handful per person), stem ends removed
Waxy potatoes (depending on size, 1 medium or 2 small per person)
Olives (oil-packed, the best you can find–about 8-10 olives per person)
Eggs (1 per person)
Tomatoes (half of a big heirloom per person), cut into wedges.
Top-quality oil-packed tinned tuna (one tin per two plates) OR one small piece of fresh tuna or other sturdy fish (I bought whiting because it was cheaper)
Freshly ground black pepper
Dressing
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt
Oil-packed anchovies (optional)
Dijon mustard (optional)

Instructions

Bring a big pot of water to a low boil.

Lower the eggs gently into the water. Immediately set a timer for 7 minutes and 30 seconds. When the timer goes off, remove the eggs from the water and dunk in a bowl of ice water. Do not dump out the boiling water. Once cool, peel however many eggs you need for this meal. (The rest can be stored in the fridge, unpeeled.)

Next, dump the green beans into the water. Boil only briefly–1-2 minutes, depending on how thick your beans are. Drain the beans, then submerge them in ice water to stop the cooking ensure they stay crispy and bright green.

Refill the pot with water and bring to a boil. Put the waxy potatoes in the water. I wish I could tell you how long they will take to cook, but I can’t: it depends completely on the size of your potatoes. If you’ve bought the tiny ones, this will take less than ten minutes; if you bought the big red ones, it might take 15 minutes. Just keep checking them (pierce with a fork or, when you think they’re really close to being done, take one out and cut it open). Once they’re done, drain into a colander. Once cool, slice.

If you are using canned tuna, open the tin and drain the excess oil.

If you are using fresh fish, pat the fish dry and season with salt and pepper. Put a little bit of oil in a frying pan over high heat. Place fish in pan. Lower heat to medium and cook until the fish releases easily, then flip and cook the other side. Cooking times will vary based on how thick your fish is–if you need to, you can slice it open to check for doneness.

Wash and dry the lettuce and arrange into a bed on each plate.

Arrange each ingredient–the green beans, potatoes, olives, and tomatoes–in little piles on top of the lettuce. Slice the hard-boiled eggs in half lengthwise and place one on top of each salad. Place the fish on top of the lettuce, as well.

Now, dress the salad. You have two options. Either drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Or, mash up a few anchovies (to taste) in a jar or mortar and pestle until they form a paste. Add a couple of teaspoons of mustard and a pinch of salt. Then add vinegar and oil in about a 1 part vinegar to 2 or 3 parts oil ratio until you have enough dressing for your salads. This is all by taste, so feel free to adjust as you wish!

Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Grind fresh black pepper over the whole thing. Serve with white or rosé and a crusty baguette!

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