This delicious Nicoise salad has a probiotic twist! Fermented vegetables add flavor and zest to this salad and perfectly complements the traditional French dressing.
A well-constructed Nicoise salad is something to behold. It is beautiful and delicious. It demands to be served on a rustic table with a glass of wine and the setting sun of a hot summer evening.
That may sound a bit poetic for a salad, but this probiotic Nicoise salad is hardly able to be summed up as “just a salad.” It is a full meal, featuring all that’s best from the summer harvest: new potatoes, fresh tomatoes, and salad greens, combined with flavorful fermented vegetables.
A probiotic salad
A salad is the perfect place to feature some of your own ferments. Here are some fermented foods that naturally pair well with a Nicoise salad.
- Salt-brined green beans: A probiotic twist on the classic Nicoise ingredient.
- Fermented garlic scapes: This late-spring delicacy is as beautiful as it is delicious.
- Pickled nasturtium berries: A sprinkling of nasturtium berries compliments the olives.
- Salt-brined eggs: Replace the hard-boiled eggs with fermented eggs. Honestly… they’re so much better than hard-boiled eggs, that I wouldn’t do this salad without them!
- Cider vinegar: At this point, I pretty much only use homemade cider vinegar. It’s just so easy to make.
- Cured olives: Olives are delicious and traditional! I haven’t personally made them myself… as I live nowhere near an olive tree. But I really enjoy them!
Probiotic Nicoise Salad
This Nicoise salad is a delicious variation on the traditional dinner salad. Made with fermented vegetables, it’s a simple way to eat more probiotics!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: France
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 lb new potatoes
- 4 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp of salt, to taste
- 8 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 head lettuce
- 1/4 cup Nicoise olives (optional)
- 1 cup fermented green beans or other vegetables (see section above for options)
Dressing
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp minced shallot
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes and the eggs. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the eggs after 10 minutes and place them in cold water to cool down. Continue to boil the potatoes until they are fork-tender, around 5 more minutes.
- Toss the potatoes in cider vinegar and salt, to taste.
- Peel the eggs and slice them into quarters.
- Mix the salad dressing ingredients in a jar.
- Prepare the salads individually. Start with a bed of ripped lettuce, then top with the cherry tomatoes, fermented vegetables, olives, potatoes, and sliced eggs. The ingredients are enough for 4 small salads or 2 large salads.
- Drizzle the salad dressing on each of the salads and serve immediately.
Notes
- Nicoise salad is traditionally served with fish. This can either be freshly poached fish or canned fish. I’ve left it out of this recipe because we typically eat vegetarian meals. However, feel free to add fish if you want.
- I recommend serving the salad with homemade sourdough bread. It’s perfect for dipping in the extra dressing.
Keywords: probiotic, pickled, summer, picnic, barbecue, gluten free, 30 minutes or less, dinner, dairy free, nut free, grain free, sugar free, soy free
I love this salad so much!
★★★★★
Thanks!