If you’ve never had a salade Niçoise, you’re really missing out. They’re pretty much a staple around here. The ingredients actually vary from region to region and even from restaurant to restaurant, but there are a few items you’ll see no matter what: green beans, potatoes, olives, hard boiled eggs, tuna, and anchovies.
When you request a vegan Niçoise salad at a restaurant, they just leave out the last three ingredients. It’s still tasty, but you’re missing some key flavors. Enter the homemade vegan version.
This bowl of deliciousness combines the standard green beans, potatoes, and olives with creamy avocado to replace the hard-boiled egg, chewy sundried tomatoes to stand in for the anchovies, and chickpeas as an alternative to the tuna. It’s not really Niçoise salad, but it’s heavenly for vegans and meat-eaters alike.
Not-really-Niçoise Salad
Dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad
- 1 head butter lettuce (torn into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 2 avocados (sliced)
- 1 small package sundried tomatoes (not the oil-packed kind, sliced)
- 1 jar olives (black or kalamata, chopped roughly or halved*)
- 1 15- oz can chickpeas
- 6-8 small yukon gold or new potatoes
- 1/2 pound trimmed green beans (the thinner the better)
- 2 tbsp capers (optional)
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil for 20-25 minutes or until soft.
- While the potatoes boil, assemble all the other elements of the salad (except the green beans and capers). Line four bowls each with a layer of butter lettuce, then add each ingredient in its own section. Leave space for the potatoes and green beans.
- Using tongs, a spoonula, or whatever you can find, pull the potatoes out of the water and let them cool enough to handle. Don’t drain the water!
- Place the green beans in the still-boiling water and let cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the green beans (you can drain the water now) and run under cold water for 1 minute. Drain and add them to the salad.
- Roughly chop the cooked potatoes and place them in the spot you reserved.
- Sprinkle capers over the salad.
- In a small bowl (or one of those cool salad dressing mixers, if you have it), whisk together all thedressing ingredients, then drizzle over the salad.
And there you have it! Heaven in a bowl.
*technically, you should be using Niçoise olives here, but if I can’t find them in the south of France, I’m guessing you might not be able to find them either. Unless you actually live in Nice. So feel free to use whatever kind you like!
Bon appetit!
Playful Rooted 
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