Salade Niçoise is a beautifully composed salad of French origin that looks fancy but is incredibly easy to make. The traditional version is often made with tuna, but here the fish is replaced with baked tofu, which makes a great stand-in. And the array of ingredients-white beans or chickpeas, slender green beans, tomatoes, and olives-makes it a splendid main dish salad for a summer meal, either on busy weeknights or festive occasions. Recipe from Plant Power: Transform Your Kitchen, Plate, and Life with More Than 150 Fresh and Flavorful Vegan Recipes by Nava Atlas. ©2014, published by HarperOne, reprinted by permission. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky.
Recipe
Vegan Niçoise-Style Salad
Ingredients
- 8 to 10 ounces fresh slender green beans trimmed (see Note)
- 1 large head Boston or Bibb lettuce torn, or mixed baby greens
- Sliced fresh basil leaves or chopped fresh parsley as desired
- 8- ounce package baked tofu diced
- 1 heaping cup grape or cherry tomatoes or diced ripe fresh tomatoes
- 15- to 16- ounce can cannellini beans or chickpeas drained and rinsed
- Pitted green or black olives or a combination
- Marinated artichoke hearts optional
- Sliced red onion optional
- Vinaigrette homemadeor storebought, to taste
Instructions
- Steam the green beans just until bright green and tender-crisp. Err on the side of undercooking rather than overcooking. Drain and rinse with cool water until they’re at room temperature.
- On a large serving platter or large shallow serving bowl, arrange the lettuce or greens. Scatter the basil or parsley over it.
- Arrange the green beans, tofu, tomatoes, beans or chickpeas, olives, and optional artichoke hearts in separated mounds over the lettuce or greens.
- Top everything with a few thinly sliced rings of red onion, if you’d like.
- Drizzle a little vinaigrette over the salad, then serve at once, passing the remainder of the vinaigrette at the table.
Nutrition (Estimate per Serving)
Note: If fresh slender green beans are unavailable, use organic whole green beans, thawed and steamed just until tender-crisp.
Nutrition information: Per serving (without dressing): Calories: 233; Total fat: 8g; Protein: 17g; Carbohydrates: 26g; Fiber: 9g; Sodium: 655mg
- Enjoy lots more main-dish salad recipes here on VegKitchen.
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