Salade niçoise with griddled tuna

A bistro classic. While others do foam and fairy dust, this is a proper plate of food.

SERVES 4

FOR THE DRESSING

• 100ml olive oil

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 50ml white wine vinegar

• 1 shallot, finely diced

FOR THE SALAD

• 200g new potatoes, scrubbed

• 200g green or yellow beans, topped and tailed

• 2 cos lettuces, cut into quarters

• 200g baby red and yellow plum tomatoes, any larger ones cut in half

• ½ red onion, thinly sliced

• 100g black olives, pitted

• 50g capers, rinsed and drained

• 50g anchovies, diced

• 4 soft-boiled eggs, peeled

FOR THE TUNA

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 4 x 200g tuna steaks

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

2 For the salad, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 10-15 minutes until tender, then drain and cut in half.

3 Blanch the beans for 5 minutes, then drain and immediately plunge into cold water to refresh. Drain well.

4 Mix the potatoes, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, olives, capers and anchovies together in a large bowl and coat in the dressing.

5 Transfer the salad to a large serving bowl.

6 For the tuna, heat a griddle pan until hot. Lightly oil the tuna steaks, season with salt and pepper and then cook for 1 minute on each side.

7 Remove the tuna from the pan and allow to rest for 1 minute before breaking into chunks. Break the eggs in half and tuck into the salad, then top with the tuna and serve.