I love potato salad. I love the creamy kind, the vinegar-y kind; I’ll take a warm one with dill, whatever you’ve got. And yet, I’m about to make a bold claim: this potato salad might be my favorite. Why? Because it’s decidedly not a side dish. It’s the whole damn meal.
This recipe comes to us from Melina Hammer, who calls it a “Niçoise-ish” potato salad, because it’s souped up with tuna, eggs, and other classic Niçoise elements. “You get those bright, bold flavors,” says Melina. It adapts easily for the season, she adds, suggesting winter radishes — like purple daikons or watermelon radishes — if you make it this month. “You can also swap the green beans for two cups of chopped escarole or Napa cabbage, and I’m always a fan of thawed frozen peas. No need to cook them any further — just toss ’em in!”
Here’s the full recipe, plus some pointers from Melina:
Niçoise-ish Potato Salad
by Melina Hammer
Serves 4
3 eggs
salt
1 dry quart small red potatoes (approximately 2 lbs), any larger ones sliced in half
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp (or more) freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp capers, strained
2 1/2 oz thin green beans, stem ends trimmed and sliced into 1 1/2-2 inch segments on a diagonal (or swap for peas, cabbage, etc)
1 5-ounce can albacore tuna
3 radishes, ends trimmed and sliced in halves, then thinly sliced
2 tbsp finely sliced chives
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Bring a medium saucepan with enough water to cover the eggs by an inch to a boil. Lower refrigerator-cold eggs into the water and cook them on a simmer for 8 minutes, then plunge the eggs into an ice bath until they are cool enough to handle. Peel and then slice the eggs into six wedges apiece and set aside.
Bring the potatoes to a simmer in well-salted water. Cook for 8 minutes or until they yield easily when pierced with a sharp knife. Strain them into a colander with a slotted spoon, reserving the cooking liquid. Transfer the potatoes to a mixing bowl and add the oil, mustard, black pepper, and capers. Gently toss to fully coat.
Blanch the green beans in the potato water for 30 seconds to 1 minute — just long enough for them to turn bright green. Strain, and add to the potatoes. Add the tuna, flaking the fish into the bowl, followed by the radishes and chives. Toss to incorporate, then add the eggs and lemon juice. (Note: “If you’re making this a day or more in advance, hold the lemon juice and add it just before serving,” says Melina. “Otherwise, it will dull the color of the green beans.”) Gently toss once more. “I like to use a silicone spatula and work up from the bottom of the bowl, folding the ingredients together with a light hand so the yolks remain mostly intact.”
As you serve the potato salad, make sure to scoop up all the last bits of custardy egg, straggler chives, and mustardy goodness clinging to the sides of the bowl. Enjoy.
Melina Hammer is a chef, food stylist, recipe developer, and the award-winning author of A Year at Catbird Cottage. Her recipes have appeared on Bon Appétit, Food52, and Edible. You can follow her newsletter, Stories from Catbird Cottage.
What other dinner salads do you love? And do you have a house salad?
P.S. Five ways to upgrade a regular green salad, and white bean soup, because it’s February.
(Photos courtesy of Melina Hammer.)
