Salad Nicoise - My Take on It

What I love most about Salad Nicoise, is how beautiful it is. So colourful
Also an excellent lunch dish when you are having friends over
This was always a winner when we were on the boat.
Some crusty bread on the side. Superb

The good thing is that you can prep in advance
Just assemble just before serving

It's really up to you what you add, there are arguments. Potatoes or Not, Green Beans or not
What must be in is Tuna, Black Olives, Capers,  Eggs, Anchovies, Crispy lettuce and Tomatoes

So here is my take on it
Amounts entirely up to you
I have set some guidelines below

1 tin good tuna in Olive oil
1 tin Anchovies
1 hard boiled egg per person, peeled and quartered
1 med potato per person
1 Red onion pickled Recipe below
Roasted peppers
Green beans

Cos or Iceberg lettuce
Handful chopped Parsley
Cherry Tomatoes Halved 
2-3 Tablespoons capers

French dressing

So preparation as follows

Peel and chop potatoes
Cook in salted boiling water till just tender
Drain and toss with 2-3 tablespoons french dressing

Red Onion
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
½ tsp dried oregano
5 black peppercorns
2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
Juice ½ orange
½ tsp sea salt
1 bay leaf
½ tsp ground cumin

Bring a small pan of water to the boil
Blanch the sliced onions for about 30 seconds
Drain
Place in a glass or ceramic bowl
Cover with the other ingredients
Marinate for at least 1 hour
The onions will turn a vibrant pink. Pretty as.

Roasted Pepper
Lightly oil whole capsicums  
Into 190C oven for about 30 minutes till skin  blisters
Place in a bowl cover with plastic wrap and let cool
Then pull the skin off over the bowl
Reserve the juice
Remove seeds and slice
Place in a container
Season with Sea salt and ground black pepper
Drizzle with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil  
Also pour over the reserved juice
Let sit and marinate

Green Beans
Top and Tail beans
Cook in boiling salted water for about 3-5 minutes till just cooked
Drain and toss with French Dressing 
Set aside to cool

Tomatoes
Cut in half, season with Salt and pepper
Toss with some French dressing and mix in some chopped parsley

So to serve

Layer with lettuce on the bottom,
then I layered down slices of capsicum
Potatoes
Green Beans
Scatter over the red onions
Cover with Cherry tomatoes
Place quartered eggs around the outside of the platter
Break up the Tuna and place over the top
Dot with olives
Lay down the anchovies

Sprinkle over the remainder of the parsley 
Drizzle French Dressing over the top and serve

Once again, ... just to prove how pretty it is