Delicious, healthy and beautiful Niçoise Salad Cups are a lovely display of fresh ingredients. Made with albacore tuna and a lemon dressing, a few cups make a main course, and one or two are the perfect appetizer.
Niçoise Salad Cups are healthy, delicious and easy to put together.
You can of course mix all of the ingredients together to serve this as a more traditional salad, but these lettuce cups are so much fun. They make for a perfect appetizer - or, three or four on a plate are enough for a main course.
For a quick appetizer, you can use canned tuna, but in this recipe, we're using fresh Albacore.
I think it's funny when people say they don't like fish that tastes too fishy, and yet, I totally get it. Fresh Albacore tuna can be a bit too fishy for some, so below is a trick to remove some of the fishiness, while keeping its delicious flavor.
While this is not a truly authentic Niçoise salad, I think you'll love it!
How to Get Rid of Fishy Taste in Fish
There are three things that will greatly help get rid of that fishy taste . . .
- Soaking fish in milk for a brief time can help remove some of the fishiness. For the science behind this, check out this explanation from Cooks Illustrated.
- A rub-like marinade with fresh herbs, garlic and a little olive oil also helps remove the fishy taste as it adds a ton of delicious flavor.
- Then sear the fish in a very hot sauté pan -- caramelizing it to perfection, which will add a beautiful "crust" on the outside, sealing in all of that added flavor.
Ingredient Notes
- For the dressing: Lemon, honey, Dijon mustard and extra virgin olive oil. For more texture, use whole grain mustard.
- Albacore tuna loin - For fresh tuna, the Albacore loin is my top choice, but this will still be excellent if you use Ahi and other cuts of tuna. To save time, canned tuna is also great. If you choose to use canned, packed in olive oil is best.
- milk - The milk is only if you'd like to remove some of the fishy flavor. 1 or 2% milk will both work.
- fresh oregano, thyme and dill - I love all of these in the lettuce cups, though you can use one, or any combination if you prefer. The oregano and thyme are for the marinade and you can use dried herbs if you'd like. Use about ½ the amount if you do. The dill is a garnish. Choose fresh herbs that are deep green and perky.
- garlic - The garlic is also for the marinade and is delicious with the herbs.
- hard boiled eggs - The eggs can be cook however you'd like them, meaning the yolks can be well done or jammy.
- Butter lettuce - Butter lettuce has a lovely soft texture, while still being firm enough to hold the other ingredients. Iceberg or Little Gem lettuces will also work well.
- Niçoise olives - Niçoise olives are small and have an earthy subtle licorice-like flavor. To save time, purchase pitted Niçoise olives. Substitution: Greek Kalamata olives.
- tomatoes - Use any variety you like. The sweeter the better.
- capers - Capers aren't in authentic Niçoise salads, but I love them, and tend to pair them with olives in many recipes. They are the unripened, pickled green flower buds of the Caper Bush. They're tart, tangy and salty.
- avocado - You won't find avocado in a traditional Niçoise salad either. Clearly, I've taken a lot of liberties here. They are just so good in these cups. Definitely skip them if they're not in season.
- onion - The onion will add a slight crunch. For added sweetness, use red onions, and for a more subtle flavor, use shallots instead.
How to Make Niçoise Salad Cups
- First, make the dressing: In a very small bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the mustard and honey, and then gradually add the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
- If you prefer your fish to be as mild as possible, to remove some of the “fishy” taste from the Albacore, soak it in the milk for 20 minutes. You can do this in a large zip-lock bag or a bowl, and it should be refrigerated. When you remove it from he milk, pat it dry with paper towels and proceed with the recipe.
- In a tiny bowl, mix the oregano, thyme, garlic and olive oil together. Place the Albacore in a large baking dish and then rub the herb mixture all over it. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate for 30 minutes.
- Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil and place it over high heat. Once it’s very hot, sprinkle the marinated Albacore with salt and pepper, and then add it to the pan. Sear each side of fish, and then turn the heat to low-medium to cook it to the desired doneness. To cook it through, it will be about 7 minutes or so. To keep the center rare, it will be about 4 minutes. Once it's cool enough to touch, it can be thinly sliced, and in some cases, it will almost "flake" apart.
Recipe Tip: You can cook it as long or as little as you'd like -- assuming it's a very high quality/sushi-grade fish, like this. (Here's some information on purchasing sushi grade fish.)
- Cut the root ends off the lettuce heads and carefully pull off about 1 dozen leaves. Use a damp towel to gently clean them and place them on a large serving platter, round side down.
- Add a small dill sprig to each lettuce leaf, followed by 1 or 2 avocado slices and about 2 slices of egg. Then, evenly distribute the fish among the lettuce cups, on top of the egg. Sprinkle the entire platter with the tomatoes, olives, capers and onion.
- Drizzle the desired amount of the dressing over the lettuce cups and serve.
Variations
- There is really no end to the possibilities for how you can change this up. You can use other fish or seafood, like salmon or shrimp. Shredded chicken would also be delicious, and for a vegetarian version, you can use cheeses for the protein, like fresh Mozzarella, Burrata or Feta.
What You Can Do Ahead
You can prepare the hard boiled eggs and the tuna a day ahead of time, keeping them in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator.
More Must-Try Beautiful Salads
I hope you all enjoy every bite!
Nicoise Salad Cups Recipe
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
- 1 (approximately 1-pound) albacore tuna loin
- ¾ cup milk, 1 or 2% — optional (see salad instruction no. 1)
- 2 teaspoons fresh oregano, washed and dried, finely chopped fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, washed and dried, finely chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (plus a bit more for the pan)
- 4 large hard boiled eggs, sliced thinly
- 2 small heads butter lettuce
- 12 small dill sprigs, washed and dried
- ½ small to medium sized avocado, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup Nicoise or Kalamata olives, pitted, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup tomatoes, seeded
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon yellow onion, finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the dressing
- In a very small bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the mustard and honey, and then gradually add the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
For the salad
- Milk soak if desired. If you prefer your fish to be as mild as possible, to remove some of the “fishy” taste from the Albacore, soak it in the milk for 20 minutes. You can do this in a large zip-lock bag or a bowl, and it should be refrigerated. When you remove it from he milk, pat it dry with paper towels and proceed with the recipe.
- Make rub/marinade. In a tiny bowl, mix the oregano, thyme, garlic and olive oil together. Place the Albacore in a large baking dish and then rub the herb mixture all over it. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate for 30 minutes.
- Sear. Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil and place it over high heat. Once it’s very hot, sprinkle the marinated Albacore with salt and pepper, and then add it to the pan. You should hear it sizzle when it hits the pan — otherwise, wait until you do. Sear each side of to brown it nicely, and then turn the heat to low-medium to cook it to the desired doneness. To cook it through, it will be about 7 minutes or so. To keep the center rare, it will be about 4 minutes or so. Remove it from the pan and set it aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Assemble. Cut the root ends off the lettuce heads and carefully pull off about 1 dozen leaves. Use a damp towel to gently clean them and place them on a large serving platter, round side down.Add a small dill sprig to each lettuce leaf, followed by 1 or 2 avocado slices and about 2 slices of egg. Now thinly slice the Albacore, and evenly distribute it among the lettuce cups, on top of the egg. Then sprinkle the entire platter with the tomatoes, olives, capers and onion.Drizzle the desired amount of the dressing over the lettuce cups and serve.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Merryn
This is amazing! We have had albacore tuna occasionally when hubby catches one as it is not a fish for sale outside of the large cities. You have prepared this beautifully, soaking it in milk is a great idea but then frying it quickly with garlic to enhance the flavour and then to turn it into a nicoise salad cup is purely brilliant. The dressing is sensational too, thanks for sharing this wonderful dish.
valentina
Hi Merryn, Thanks so very much - you made my day. 😀 I'm so happy you love it! So fantastic your husband catches it! Must be SO fresh and delicious! Cheers and happy cooking. ~Valentina
sippitysup
I'm sure Dana loved it as the rare to not so rare cooking method is genius. I've been known to fold that flap under without getting the variation your pix so beautifully shows. GREGGREG
valentina
Thank you! She did like it. Phew! 😉 xo V
Jeff the Chef
Nicely done! I especially like the way you've composed this salad. I love Salade Niçoise - it one of my favorite dishes. So, I had it in many excellent restaurants, and have composed a few myself. The way you've composed yours almost makes it into a finger food - you could so easily pick up one of those leaves and treat it as a wrap. I would go nuts for that!
valentina
Thanks so much, Jeff! I've always love Nicoise salads too. Hope you give this one a go. And yes, it's like a "taco." 🙂
Jeff the Chef | Make It Like a Man!
I also love that you've used seared tuna. I usually use canned in a Nicoise, but yours beats the pants off of that!
Valentina
Thank you, Jeff. Happy you like the fresh tuna. I feel like if you've got it, go for it. 🙂 ~Valentina