The garden is turning out tons of succulent green beans. Since there's canned tuna, olive oil, and capers in the larder; eggs, leftover couscous, and a half of lemon in the fridge; those ridiculously abundant green beans plus fennel the herb in the garden, I say a refreshing salade composée is in order. The French in general don't do mixed/chef salads, instead they refer to any fresh greens as les salades and will often serve just raw leafy vegetables following the main course for cleansing the palate. Salade Niçoise which originated in the French city of Nice varies from household to household and restaurant to restaurant and can either be a composed or tossed salad. Ingredients often include green beans, tuna, and hardboiled eggs, hence the inspiration for my couscous salad. Other additions can be potatoes, anchovies, olives, bell peppers, les salades, and tomatoes. What's there to drink? As a majority of our garden strawberries were macerated in sugar till a ravishing ruby-coloured syrup formed and then popped in the freezer, a Ginger Strawberry Slushie is a perfect accompaniment to the brilliantly green beans.
To compose this salad, spread evenly the couscous on a plate. Mound the flaked tuna in the centre. Then do the green bean cross, that is, two lines of the beans at right angles to each other. Put four halves of hardboiled eggs in the spaces between the beans. Sprinkle on the minced fennel, capers, and olive oil. Season with freshly ground black pepper and fleur de sel. Garnish with fennel sprigs. Top with a twisted thin lemon slice. Serve the remaining lemon with the salad so it can be added just before eating because acid turns the beans to an unattractive grey.
The eggs were boiled for eight minutes, so less than the usual ten. They were nicely gooey.
For about a litre of slushie, smash with a meat mallet two cups of frozen, sugared strawberries put in a ziplock bag. Place the contents along with a large pinch of powdered ginger in a stick blender's container with some cold water and additional sugar if preferred. Blend. For each serving pour in a good slosh of cream. A lovely beverage indeed because it keeps cold as the frozen strawberry bits melt slowly. Its starting out first thick and quite frosty and then gradually becoming thinner while staying pleasantly cool provides an interesting textural experience. And the heavy cream laces its smoothing richness throughout.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Our trip to Nice and Hyères
Socca, a chickpea flatbread from the south of France
Caprese Socca
Socca Croustillant with Tomatoes, Yogurt & Walnut Basil Pesto
To compose this salad, spread evenly the couscous on a plate. Mound the flaked tuna in the centre. Then do the green bean cross, that is, two lines of the beans at right angles to each other. Put four halves of hardboiled eggs in the spaces between the beans. Sprinkle on the minced fennel, capers, and olive oil. Season with freshly ground black pepper and fleur de sel. Garnish with fennel sprigs. Top with a twisted thin lemon slice. Serve the remaining lemon with the salad so it can be added just before eating because acid turns the beans to an unattractive grey.
The eggs were boiled for eight minutes, so less than the usual ten. They were nicely gooey.
For about a litre of slushie, smash with a meat mallet two cups of frozen, sugared strawberries put in a ziplock bag. Place the contents along with a large pinch of powdered ginger in a stick blender's container with some cold water and additional sugar if preferred. Blend. For each serving pour in a good slosh of cream. A lovely beverage indeed because it keeps cold as the frozen strawberry bits melt slowly. Its starting out first thick and quite frosty and then gradually becoming thinner while staying pleasantly cool provides an interesting textural experience. And the heavy cream laces its smoothing richness throughout.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Our trip to Nice and Hyères
Socca, a chickpea flatbread from the south of France
Caprese Socca
Socca Croustillant with Tomatoes, Yogurt & Walnut Basil Pesto
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