A wonderfully flexible salad that has a medley of flavors. I wouldn’t hesitate to switch out the tuna with beef. Fillet anyone?

Ingredients

2 cups of haricots verts cut in half
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme leaves, minced
1 medium onion, peeled, trimmed, and sliced
3/4 cup Nicoise Salad Dressing, recipe follows
3 cups of fingerling potatoes
1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
1/2 garlic clove, peeled
2 teaspoons Black and Green Olive Tapenade, recipe here
3 (6-ounce) center-cut Ahi tuna fillets
4 cups mixed baby greens
1 10oz. package of plain couscous
3 TBs. of fresh basil leaves
1 good handful of baby spinach leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat your grill to high
2. Place the fingerling potatoes into a medium saucepan. Cover with at least 1″ of water above the potatoes, add 1 1/2 TBs of salt and bring to a boil. The potatoes are done when you can easily stick a knife into them.
3. Drain, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and set inside a bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add 1/2 TBs of chopped, fresh thyme and 3 TBs of mustard vinaigrette (recipe below).
4. While the potatoes are boiling. Prepare the couscous following the package instructions. After you remove the couscous from the heat, add 3 TBs of torn basil leaves and a handful of baby spinach.
4. Bring 3 cups of water and 1TBs of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Blanch the hericots verts for about 1.5 minutes. Strain and run under cold water or shock them in an icebath to stop the cooking.
5. Place the beans in a bowl add 1 1/2 TBs of olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
6. In a bowl, toss the mixed baby greens with the mustard vinaigrette, recipe below.
7. Cut the onion into 1/4 inch slices. Heat a medium saute pan on medium heat. Add 2 TBs. of olive oil and caramelize the onions. Stirring occasionally for about 10 mins. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
8. Drizzle some olive oil over the tuna fillets. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Grill on high heat for about 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium rare. Cut into 1/2 pieces. Make sure to go against the grain.

Plating

1. Place some greens on the plate.
2. Add a layer of fingerling potatoes
3. Add a layer of caramelized onions
4. Layer a few pieces of the grilled ahi
5. Top with black and green olive tapenade
6. Drizzle with mustard vinaigrette

Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of Dijon mustard. I often used an herbed dijon
2 TBs. of minced garlic
2 TBs. of minced shallots
Approx 1 1/2 cups of extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 TBs of fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1.Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, garlic, shallots and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
2. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture thickens. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Here are some pics that include a couple different platings.

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