
Salad Nicoise with Seared Pepper Crusted Tuna
Prep Time Minutes 20
Cook Time 5 Minutes
Passive Time
Servings People
Prep Time Minutes 20 | Cook Time 5 Minutes | Passive Time | Servings People |
Salad Nicoise with Seared Pepper Crusted Tuna
If you are looking for a light but filling dinner salad, try this salad Nicoise. In addition to having all of the regulars, like olives, tomatoes, string beans, and eggs, this version kicks it up a notch with a seared pepper crusted ahi tuna. I love to use red and green peppercorns, which have a slightly sweet taste. Make sure everyone gets a few slices of the tuna and feel free to add any additional veggies that you love!
Ingredients
- Handful of Olives your choice
- 6-8 New Potatoes small ish ones boiled until just cooked through
- 1 lb String beans steamed until just bright green, but still crunchy (I like to use haricot vert)
- 4-6 Cups Mixed greens or lettuce
- 4 Tomatoes vine ripened cut into wedges or cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 4-6 Hard boiled eggs Cooked and sliced in half or quarters
- 1 Cup Marinated Artichoke hearts optional
- Pepper Crusted Tuna see ingredients below
- Dressing see recipe below
Seared Pepper Crusted Tuna
- 8-12 ounces Fresh tuna steak or loin, high quality, cut about 1 inch thick (some stores sell special sushi grade tuna)
- 2 TBS Red and Green peppercorns roughly crushed in a spice grinder or mortar (or a plastic bag using a rolling pin)
- 1-2 TBS Oil pick one with a high smoking point, like peanut – not olive oil
Dressing
- 3 TBS White wine vinegar
- 2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 Clove Garlic grated on a microplane (about 1 tsp)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 9 TBS Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Clove Ggarlic grated on a microplane (about 1 tsp)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 9 TBS Extra virgin olive oil
Ingredients
Seared Pepper Crusted Tuna
Dressing
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- Place the greens in a bowl and toss with half of the dressing.
- If you are serving family style, you can assemble on a platter. If not, you can serve on individual plates.
- Place a mound of greens on each plate or to cover the platter.
- To assemble, I like to arrange all of the components on top of the greens, each vegetable/ingredient placed into its own area.
- Place the pieces of seared tuna on top.
- Drizzle additional dressing on top of the veggies.
Seared Pepper Crusted Tuna
- Place the crushed pepper corns on a plate and coat the tuna loin on all 4 sides.
- Heat a sautee pan on high heat with 1-2 TBS oil.
- As soon as the oil has come up to temperature, but before it smokes, add the tuna. Sear for 3 minutes on each side. You can cook it for longer depending on the thickness of your piece of tuna and how rare you like it. Ideally, the outside should be well seared and the inside should be red or dark pink.
- Let cool slightly and slice into thin slices (about a 1/4 inch) making sure that each slice has pepper corns on its edges.
Dressing
- Place all of the ingredients in a glass jar and shake to combine.