Tonight we officially kicked off the summer's grilling with a honking piece of sirloin and it was wonderful. There is something about the smell of charcoal that just screams summer and the Hubs is the Grill Master. Of course the problem with a charcoal grill is that it's hard to control the amount of fire generated and this time there was so much extra fire that I had to find more meat to feed to the grill. Luckily a quick search of the fridge yielded up two chicken breasts that had no intended purpose and will now make great grilled chicken salads tomorrow.
That huge piece of sirloin (I didn't even know that they made sirloin that big) needed some quality vegetables (and a few potatoes) to balance it out, so I made up a deconstructed Nicoise salad. I suppose that technically I should be calling this a "constructed" Niciose salad since traditionally these are composed salads with the ingredients in separate groupings on the plate (and I toss them all together in a bowl). The real key to this salad is to pouring the dressing over the potatoes while they are still warm so that they absorb the dressing (and it's flavor). Nicoise salads usually call for tuna and olives in addition to the ingredients listed below, but all you really need to get the general flavors is the potatoes, the green beans, and the tomatoes.
For the Salad:
1 five pound bag baby potatoes
1/2 pound green beans
2 cups cherry tomatoes
4 hard boiled eggs
Salt & Pepper
For the Dressing:
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp tarragon, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. While the water is heating, cut the potatoes into roughly 2" pieces and the green beans into 2" long sections. Add the potatoes to the water and boil for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes has passed, hang the green beans in a steaming basket over the boiling potatoes and cook the potatoes and green beans for another 10 minutes. While the potatoes and beans cook, cut the tomatoes in half, removing the seeds and put them in a large bowl. Then peel the eggs and cut them into quarters, adding them to the bowl with the tomatoes. Mix up the dressing (using the shaking method) so that it's ready when the potatoes are cooked. After the potatoes have cooked for 15 minutes, place the green beans in the bowl with the tomatoes and eggs and check to potatoes to make sure that they are fork tender. Once the potatoes are cooked through, add them to the other vegetables, pouring the dressing over the potatoes. Salt and pepper the vegetables to taste. Toss the salad until the vegetables are coated in the dressing and then set the salad aside for about 10 minutes, until the dressing has been absorbed. Serve the salad garnished with a sprinkle of chopped tarragon. Bon Appetit!
Serves 6
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