Today, I made a French salad recipe called nicoise salad. I filled the salad with a combination of salad greens, capers, tuna and goose eggs. I was testing the recipe because school is about to start, and I’m not a big fan of the ready-made all-inclusive food trays. They don’t contain much except a few crackers and small pieces of cheese and cold meat that are usually packed with salt, sugar and fat.
The salad received two thumbs up from my little munchkin. She loves hard-cooked eggs, which makes folding in the other ingredients much easier. As an added bonus, hard-boiled eggs are easy to pack. If you’re planning on making this for your kids, the nicoise salad dressing can be packed separately so the salad is still crunchy and fresh when lunch time finally arrives.
A Pham Fatale reader named Karen left a wonderfully insightful comment last week where she described the challenges of preparing lunches for her kids. While my little munchkin hasn’t experienced the teasing from her classmates (yet) even though her lunch box is different from her friends, I understand the issue. It has inspired me to come up with back-to-school recipes that covertly sneak nutritious ingredients into dishes that are familiar to kids. What could be more femme fatale worthy than that?
1. Info for Tuna Nicoise Salad with Goose Eggs
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Servings: 4
- Calories: 250 kcal
2. Ingredients for Tuna Nicoise Salad with Goose Eggs
- 2 cups combined frisée, Romaine and Rocket salad
- 1 roasted bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 3 goose eggs
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup garlic and parmesan croutons, store-bought
- 2 tablespoons pickled red onions (see tips)
- 1 lemon, cut into small wedges
- 1 (2.5-ounce) pouch light tuna in water, as needed
- 2 tablespoons non-pareil capers
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 cup favorite vinaigrette
3. Directions:
- For the salad greens: Wash and spin dry the lettuce. Set aside.
- Hard-cooked goose eggs: Place the eggs in a saucepan. Cover them with cold water. As soon as the water reaches a full boil, add 1/3 teaspoon of salt. Lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 7-8 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and let the quail eggs sit for about 10 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath. Cool the eggs completely. Peel and cut them into quarters.
- Assembly time: Place the greens on a serving platter. Combine all the ingredients and distribute them evenly. Season with salt. Drizzle with the vinaigrette when you’re ready to serve.
- Sprinkle with black pepper.
- Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
- Bon appétit!