Salmon Nicoise salad

I have always loved the typical French Nicoise salad.  The combination of tuna, eggs, beans and anchovies in a salad is an all time favourite.  Everyone loves it but there are so many variations that it is almost impossible to pick an original.  Damien Pignolet states in his Salad book that there should never be any cooked vegetables in it as it is actually an hors d’oeuvre based on what the French call crudités or raw vegetables.  I don’t care, Nicoise salad to me has cooked potatoes and beans and I’m sticking to that story!

This is a version far removed from any idea of an original recipe anyway, adapted from the Miele steam oven recipe so I am using salmon instead of tuna.  This was actually the first thing I ever cooked in my first steam oven.  It was a great way to learn how to cook various items at different times and as cooking in the steam oven retains all the flavour and nutrients in the food everything just tastes so much better than boiled vegetables would.  Try it, I am sure it will become a favourite recipe of yours too.

Ingredients:  Serves 4

3-4 medium new potatoes, cut into halves or quarters or about 8 smaller ones, halved
3 eggs, rounded end pierced with a pin
2 salmon fillets, skinned and boned
300g baby salad leaves, washed
3 vine ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges
handful of baby green beans
1/2 Lebanese cucumber sliced
good quality anchovies in oil, drained and cut into long strips
1/2 cup black olives
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp tarragon vinegar
few basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Cut potatoes into halves or quarters depending on their size and place into perforated tray.  Steam @ 100ºC for 8 minutes
2. Place eggs in with the potatoes to also cook for 8 minutes
3. Test the potatoes to see if they are cooked with a sharp knife and remove eggs.  Place in cold water
4. If the potatoes need a little longer then place the salmon fillets on a piece of baking paper over the top of the potatoes and cook for 2 minutes.
5. In another tray or at the side of the potatoes, whatever will fit, add the beans.  Cook the beans and salmon for 2 minutes extra @ 100ºC if you have large pieces of salmon otherwise 2 minutes is all I used for very thin fillets.
6. Drain and flake the salmon, peel eggs and cut into quarters
7. Gently combine potatoes, beans, tomatoes, cucumber, oil and vinegar and toss with salt & pepper.  Add the leaves.
8. Finish with eggs, anchovies and olives and another ground of black pepper.

Tip:  When you remove the hot potatoes from the steam oven plunge them into the dressing, salt & pepper that you have mixed into a large bowl.  They will soak up the flavour and be even more delicious!  Once cooled then you can add the other ingredients and mix through.