Not Naughty, But Niçoise

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 handfuls thin green beans
• 4 eggs
• 1 small Cos or 2 Little Gem lettuces
• 500g fresh tuna
• 300g small cherry tomatoes
• Handful pitted black provençal olives – roughly chopped
• 4 handfuls coriander – finely chopped
• 2 handfuls parsley – finely chopped
• 1 thumb fresh ginger – very finely chopped
• 6 spring onions – finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic – peeled and very finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic – peeled but left whole
• 3 small red fresh chillis – very finely chopped
• Handful fresh chives – finely chopped
• 7 tbsp sesame oil
• 120ml good olive oil
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• Juice of 2 limes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Drop of runny honey

METHOD

Start with the tuna burger. Chop the tuna so that you end with a very fine dice but not a mash. Combine in a large bowl with half the coriander, parsley, chopped garlic, onion, ginger, chilli, all the soy and 4 tbsp sesame oil. Mix this with some energy till all the ingredients look well combined. Leave for a few minutes to amalgamate and then add salt and pepper according to your taste. Form the mix into four flattish patties and refrigerate till ready to cook – anything from half an hour to overnight.

Make the dressing.

With the flat side of a knife bash the whole garlic clove and stick the bashed clove on a fork. Place the fork in a measuring cup with the clove still attached. Over this, pour the olive oil, lime juice and the honey. Mix well with the fork to emulsify. Add salt and pepper. Set to one side, leaving bashed garlic in the dressing, but not forgetting to remove before you use the dressing.

Make the salsa.

Quarter the cherry tomatoes. In a bowl, mix with the chives, olives, and the rest of the spring onions, chillis, coriander, parsley and ginger. Pour over most of the dressing, reserving about a third for later. Mix the tomatoes with the dressing till well combined. Leave to macerate for a few minutes and then add salt and pepper to taste. Leave to one side.

Eggs and green beans.

Boil the eggs for about 5 minutes to achieve a softly set yolk. (Depending on the size of your eggs, this might take anywhere from 5 to 6 minutes.) Stop the cooking process by running the unpeeled eggs briefly under cold water, and then shell carefully and leave to one side.

Top and tail green beans. In plenty of boiling salted water, cook the beans. You do not want an overly raw bean, so this should take about 4 minutes, but by all means adjust the time according to taste. When cooked, drain the beans and rinse in very cold water to preserve their colour. Drain again and dry well on some paper towels. In a small bowl, toss the beans with about half of the remaining dressing.

Finishing the salad.

Take the tuna burgers out of the fridge.

Wash and dry the lettuce leaves and slice the leaves into long strips. On a large serving plate, arrange the leaves in a tidy fan. Yes, it is naff, but the French have symmetrical issues – think Versailles. Drizzle some of the remaining dressing over the leaves. Cut the eggs in half and place them symmetrically (that word again) around the leaves. Divide the beans in eighths and repeat. In the centre of the plate, heap about half the tomato salsa.

In a large frying pan, heat the remaining three tablespoons of sesame oil till very hot. Sear the tuna burgers for one minute on each side. Place the burgers around the salsa. Drizzle over the rest of the dressing where needed. Serve with the remaining tomato salsa.