Salade niçoise

Salade niçoise(French pronunciation:[saˈladniˈswaz];Occitan:salada niçarda,pronounced[saˈlaðoniˈsaɾðo], orsalada nissardain theNiçard dialect) is asaladthat originated in the French city ofNice. It is traditionally made oftomatoes, hard-boiledeggs,Niçoise olivesandanchoviesortuna,dressedwitholive oil, or in some historical versions, avinaigrette. It has been popular worldwide since the early 20th century, and has been prepared and discussed by many chefs.Delia Smithcalled it "one of the best combinations of salad ingredients ever invented"andGordon Ramsaysaid that "it must be the finest summer salad of all".
Salade niçoise can be served either as acomposed salador as atossed salad. Freshly cooked or cannedtunamay be added. For decades, traditionalists and innovators have disagreed over which ingredients should be included; traditionalists exclude cooked vegetables. The salad may include rawred peppers,shallots,artichokehearts and other seasonal raw vegetables. Rawgreen beansharvested in the spring, when they are still young and crisp, may be included. However, cooked green beans andpotatoesare commonly served in variations of salade niçoise that are popular around the world.
The version known in Nice in the late 19th century was a basic combination oftomatoes,  anchovies andolive oil, described as "simple food for poor people".Over time,  other fresh and mostly raw ingredients were added to the salad as served in Nice. A 1903 recipe by Henri Heyraud in a book calledLa Cuisine à Niceincluded tomatoes, anchovies, artichokes, olive oil, red peppers andblack olives, but excluded tuna andlettuce. The dressing included olive oil,vinegar,mustardandfines herbes.
Former Nice mayor and cookbook authorJacques Médecinwas a strict salad traditionalist. His 1972 cookbookCuisine Nicoise: Recipes from a Mediterranean Kitchencalled for the salad to be served in a wooden bowl rubbed withgarlic,and excluded boiled vegetables: "never, never, I beg you, include boiled potato or any other boiled vegetable in your salade niçoise."Médecin wrote that the salad should be made "predominantly of tomatoes" which should be "salted three times and moistened with olive oil".Hard-boiled eggs were added, and either anchovies or canned tuna,  but not both. He incorporated raw vegetables such ascucumbers, purple artichokes,green peppers,fava beans,spring onions, black olives,basiland garlic, but no lettuce or vinegar.According toRowley Leigh, Médecin believed that salade niçoise "was a product of the sun and had to be vibrant with the crisp, sweet flavours of the vegetables of the Midi."Médecin advocated presenting the dish as a composed salad,  commenting, "As the various ingredients that go intosalade niçoiseare of bright and contrasting colours, they can be arranged most decoratively in the salad bowl."
An organization calledCercle de la Capelina d'Or, led for many years by Renée Graglia until her death in 2013,continues to protest against deviation from traditional local recipes. The group, which certifies restaurants in Nice, sticks with  Médecin's standards. They reject commonly included ingredients such as green beans and potatoes, as well as innovations such as includingsweet corn,mayonnaise,shallotsandlemon.
In 2016, French Michelin-starred chefHélène Darrozeposted a salade niçoise recipe onFacebookthat included cooked potatoes and green beans.According to journalist Mathilde Frénois, the reaction on Facebook was quick and hostile from the "purists". Darroze's version was called "a massacre of the recipe", a "sacrilege", and a violation of the "ancestral traditions" of the salad. She was warned that it is "dangerous to innovate".
The question of the proper ingredients appropriate for a salade niçoise has long been the subject of debate and even controversy.The British cookNigella Lawsonobserved "Everyone seems to have a very strong opinion as to what should or should not go into a Salade Niçoise".Chef and cookbook authorAuguste Escoffier(1846–1935), born inVilleneuve-Loubetnear Nice, added potatoes and green beans, an innovation that remains controversial as a "questionable idea" a century later.
Salade niçoise has been known in the United States since at least the 1920s, when a cookbook for hotel chefs included two variations. The first was vegetarian, was dressed with mayonnaise, and included lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, stringless beans andpimento-stuffed olives, while the second version was a composed salad,  including the same ingredients, plus anchovies.
The dish was included in the 1936 cookbookL'Art culinaire modernebyHenri-Paul Pellaprat, which was first translated for American cooks in 1966 asModern French Culinary Art. His version included cold cooked potatoes and cold cooked green beans.
A 1941 U.S. version by chefLouis Diatof theRitz-Carlton Hotelincluded the anchovies, was dressed withvinaigrette, and addedcapers.
The highly influential 1961 American cookbookMastering the Art of French Cookingincluded a recipe that incorporated a potato salad, green beans, both tuna and anchovies and a vinaigrette dressing.Co-authorJulia Childlater demonstrated the recipe on her television show,The French Chef, in 1970.
A recipe was included inProsper Montagné'sLarousse Gastronomiquein 1938. It called for "equal parts diced potatoes andFrench beans. Season with oil, vinegar,saltandpepper. Mix with anchovy fillets, olives and capers. Garnish with quartered tomatoes."
French chefPaul Bocuseincluded a vegetarian version of the salad, garnished with chopped onion andchervil, in the 1977 English translation of his cookbook.
A 1979 variation byPierre Franeyis calledSalade Niçoise aux Poires d'Avocat. Franey wrote, "I am convinced that had avocados been native toProvencethey would have been an inevitable ingredient in the celebrated salad of that region, the salad niçoise." This version also includedmushroomsand both black and green olives.
Claudia Rodenis an advocate ofinnovation, and observed in 1984 that "There are not one or two or three versions of salade Nicoise — but dozens, depending on what is available."
In 1984,James Beardcreated a version incorporatingricefor anUncle Ben'sadvertising campaign.
In 1991,Jacques Pépinwrote an article that called the inclusion of canned tuna the "conventional choice", and recommendedsauteedfresh tuna instead as "more elegant".Mimi Sheratondisagrees, commenting, "Salade Nicoise with fresh tuna is a travesty . . . if you like it,  you are wrong!"In 1999, Pépin joined with Julia Child in a TV series,Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home. Each prepared a salad they called "Near Nicoise". Child's version was a composed salad including tuna and anchovies canned in olive oil,  andblanchedgreen beans. Pépin's was a tossed salad including sauteed fresh tuna and potatoes.
Many chefs have developed variations using seafood other than anchovies or tuna.Ina Garten,Jamie OliverandRachael Rayhave published variations usingsalmonas the fish component.Bobby Flayhas published variations incorporatingshrimpandswordfishboth of which he describes as "Nicoise" in quotation marks.Sara Moultonalso has a recipe incorporating shrimp. Instead of a conventional salad dressing,  she uses an Italian tuna sauce.A wide variety of seafoods can be used in non-traditional variations, with San Francisco chef Jay Harlow commenting,  "Mackerel, and even milder fish likerockfish,codorhalibutare also delicious served this way, as are good canned sardines."
Nigella Lawsonhas published a quick recipe that substitutescroutonsfor potatoes.
Cat Corahas published a variation that presents the salad as alettuce wrap.
Emeril Lagassehas a recipe that uses amayonnaisebased creamyParmesandressing,  and incorporates grilledYellowfin tunaloinalong withPicholineolives in addition to the traditional black olives.
Guy Fierihas a recipe that incorporatescouscousand mushrooms.
Mark Bittmanhas a variation that incorporatesfarro.
Many other chefs and food writers have written recipes for the salad.  Among them areDaniel Boulud,Anthony Bourdain,Melissa d'Arabian,Hélène Darroze,Tyler Florence,Simon Hopkinson,Robert Irvine,Gordon Ramsay,Nigel Slater,Delia Smith,Martha Stewart,Michael SymonandAlice Waters.