I have seen dozens of recipes for niçoise salad over the years. But to tell you the truth, they’ve never looked that appetizing to me. Maybe it’s my childhood aversion to green beans coming out, or maybe it’s that I expect the potatoes to be too bland and starchy. Even the niçoise salads with fresh ahi tuna never sparked much of my interest.

But I recently bought a copy of Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook, and she features two niçoise salads: one cool, and one warm. The photographs of both make the salad look so rustic and inviting, that I began to reconsider my prejudice against the salad from Nice.

As for the potatoes, my mom and I have been replacing regular starchy potatoes with sweet potatoes lately—they’re higher in nutrients and flavor, so I thought I’d add those to the salad instead.

Not to mention, I have been getting these gorgeous eggs from my neighbor lately, so I knew the bright yolks would make the salad stunning to look at.

I figured it was time to finally try my own version.

I added anchovies to the salad, as is traditional, but I found they made the salad a little too salty. You can add them if you want, of course, but I think the anchovies in the dressing are enough.

salade niçoise with sweet potatoes and ahi tuna

1 sweet potato, cut into 1 inch slices
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 fresh tuna steaks
4 hardboiled eggs, peeled and cut in half
large handful of green beans, blanched and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup artichoke hearts
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
5-6 anchovies (completely optional)
3 large handfuls of salad greens, such as spinach or butter lettuce
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons niçoise or kalamata olives

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potato slices in olive oil and salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes, or until browned and tender. Allow to cool and cut into 1 inch chunks.

2. Drizzle tuna steaks with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sear tuna on all sides for about a minute each side. Remove from pan and allow to rest for ten minutes. Slice across the grain with a very sharp knife (Hopefully your knife is sharper than mine!).

3. Divide all ingredients between four plates, and drizzle with anchovy chive dressing.

anchovy chive dressing

2 teaspoons anchovy paste
8-10 chives, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar or pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 clove garlic, grated

Blend all ingredients together with a food processor or a blender until the chives are very finely chopped.

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12 Responses to “salade niçoise with sweet potatoes and anchovy chive dressing”

1. Jennifer (Savor) says:

   30 May 2011 at 12:48 pm

   Ge-org-ge-ous! I adore the sweet potatoes in the salad!
2. Jaime {sophistimom} says:

   30 May 2011 at 1:16 pm

   Thanks, Jennifer!
3. marla says:

   30 May 2011 at 1:31 pm

   Being a gal who always asks for the potatoes to be removed from my plate – this will change everything as sweet potatoes are my favorite. Love this bright nicoise!
4. Jaime {sophistimom} says:

   30 May 2011 at 1:39 pm

   Thank you Marla! I think I am going to use them instead of regular potatoes all the time now.
5. Angie says:

   31 May 2011 at 5:26 am

   Wow, this looks amazing, yummy!
6. Charissa says:

   31 May 2011 at 8:15 pm

   I love these photos so much, they are inspiring and beautiful! And I just need a salad looking at them!
   Love your site, it`s just bee-a-utiful!
7. Jaime {sophistimom} says:

   31 May 2011 at 8:25 pm

   Aw, thanks, Charissa!! And congratulations on running a marathon!
8. Dana says:

   1 June 2011 at 9:14 pm

   I like the idea of the sweet potato in the Nicoise salad! I’ve never really tried it myself either, maybe it is the green beans that stop me too.
9. Karen says:

   9 June 2011 at 12:42 pm

   I am going to try this. It looks soooooooo AMAZING!!!
10. Steve says:

    13 July 2011 at 1:27 pm

    The sweet potatoes and your dressing are definitely going in my next niçoise, but tradition rules the tuna choice, a good quality imported Tonno tuna, or artisanal canned tuna from the Pacific Northwest will always be a better choice in my book; but NEVER use a tuna canned in water… tasteless. My two cents.
11. Sacha says:

    24 October 2012 at 10:32 am

    I do like a good Nicoise Salad, this recipe looked fabulous and I finally used that sweet potato that was sitting in my cupboard.
    I did use canned tuna though and I didn’t make your dressing, I just used my old simple one, but it sounds delicious and I will try it after I’ve bought the ingredients.
    Thanks for the recipe, such a vibrant twist!
12. Jaime {sophistimom} says:

    25 October 2012 at 11:34 am

    Sacha! Thank you for your comment! I loved that salad, and I’m so thrilled that you want to try it!