Salade Niçoise is one of those dishes that looks simple from the outside—fresh vegetables, tuna, anchovies, olives, eggs, vinaigrette—but the more time I’ve spent making it, the more I’ve realised how precise it actually is. It’s a salad that teaches you to respect ingredients, handle them cleanly, and resist the temptation to overcomplicate things. Every component needs to taste like itself. Nothing is hidden. Nothing is masked.

What I love most about a proper Niçoise is the clarity. Crisp leaves washed and dried properly. Tomatoes that taste like tomatoes. Tuna that isn’t shredded into mush. Anchovies added with purpose, not buried. A vinaigrette that dresses rather than drowns. Everything arranged with care.

How My Own Practice with Niçoise Evolved

When I began making Salade Niçoise regularly, I did what everyone outside France does at first: I added things that didn’t belong. Boiled potatoes. Blanched green beans. Capers. Whatever I saw online. Eventually I took a step back and started working from the principles instead of the interpretations: freshness, balance, and a raw, clean Mediterranean profile.

I learned to be strict about the greens. Wet lettuce ruins the whole dish. Once I started washing meticulously, spinning aggressively, and letting the leaves air-dry, the vinaigrette finally clung the way it should.

Tomatoes became the next focus. In London’s unpredictable market, not every tomato is worth slicing. I started buying vine tomatoes from Italian delis, or cherry tomatoes when their larger cousins were too watery. Seasoning them lightly with salt 10 minutes before assembly has become a ritual—they soften slightly, and the aroma deepens.

Finding good tuna in olive oil in London is surprisingly easy once you know where to look. Spanish and Portuguese tins from delis, or even high-quality supermarket jars, are worlds apart from the dry stuff in water. Flaking the tuna by hand instead of shredding it is one of those small skills that changes texture instantly.

Anchovies were a learning curve for me. Some brands are too salty, some too muddy. Over time, I discovered that Ortiz and the Waitrose own-label jarred anchovies work beautifully—clean flavour, firm texture.

Even olives matter. Niçoise olives are ideal, but in London, Kalamata or good Provençal-style black olives are a very acceptable stand-in.

What emerged from all this trial and error was a version that stays true to the spirit of the Niçoise while using ingredients I can reliably source where I live. It’s a salad that feels deceptively simple until you start paying attention—then it becomes a practice of discipline and choice.

Classic Salade Niçoise – Recipe

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2 big handfuls crisp lettuce or mixed leaves
• 2 ripe tomatoes or a handful of cherry tomatoes
• ½ red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 small cucumber, sliced
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
• 120g tuna in olive oil, drained
• 6–8 anchovy fillets
• A handful of black olives (Niçoise or Kalamata)
• Basil leaves

Vinaigrette:

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Wash and thoroughly dry the greens; keep chilled.
2. Arrange lettuce on plates.
3. Add tomatoes, cucumber, and peppers in neat clusters.
4. Flake tuna gently by hand and add to the salad.
5. Place anchovies and halved eggs on top.
6. Whisk the vinaigrette and drizzle lightly.
7. Finish with olives and torn basil.

Fresh, crisp, balanced—that’s the Niçoise at its best.