Niçoise salad

This is a super-versatile salad, and you can mix and match the ingredients to suit what’s in season. If the tomatoes aren’t good, leave them out and use a handful of sundried tomatoes. If your green beans are looking limp, stir in some canned cannellini beans in their place. And if fresh tuna is on offer, throw it on the griddle and slice it up to take this salad to very special status. For maximum flavour, let your potatoes and green beans cool in the vinaigrette.

SERVES 4 PREP 10 mins COOK 15 mins EASY

12 baby potatoes, larger ones cut

in half

4 large eggs

100g green beans

2 Little Gem lettuces, leaves

separated

2 red peppers from a jar, drained

and torn into strips 200g cherry tomatoes on the vine,

cut in half

100g mixed olives (stuffed green or

Kalamata are good), torn if large 2 x 200g cans tuna in oil, drained crusty bread, to serve

For the dressing

6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped 2 tbsp baby capers

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for

drizzling large handful of flat-leaf parsley,

roughly chopped

1 First, make the dressing in the same large bowl that you will use to serve the salad. Mix together the anchovies, capers, garlic, mustard, vinegar, olive oil and plenty of seasoning. Stir in most of the parsley. Set the remainder aside.

2 Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes and eggs, cook for 6 mins, then add the green beans and cook for a further 4 mins. Drain, setting the eggs to one side. Tip the potatoes and beans into the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat. Cool the eggs under running cold water, then drain again, peel and halve each egg, then set aside. Add the lettuce, red peppers and tomatoes to the potatoes and beans, and gently toss to combine. Scatter over the olives and flake over the tuna. Top with the egg halves and the remaining parsley, then serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil and some crusty bread.

GOOD TO KNOW folate • fibre • vit c • 3 of 5-a-day

PER SERVING 428 kcals • fat 24g • saturates 4g •

carbs 24g • sugars 6g • fibre 7g • protein 25g •

salt 2.8g