Post by Ella
I felt obligated to try a Salade niçoise in the place of its origin, Nice. I do love a good salad and the caprese salad I’d had on Halloween night was outstanding.
The traditional niçoise salad is composed of tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, niçoise olives and anchovies or tuna, and dressed with olive oil. It’s been updated over the years to include other raw vegetables (cooked vegetables not allowed although that is controversial among chefs and steamed or sautéed green beans and boiled potatoes may make an appearance). The salad may also be dressed with a Dijon-based vinaigrette.
I looked up “best salade niçoise” in Nice and was ready for a taste treat at La Cenac when we made a detour down to the beach (who can resist walking on a stony beach? Not Grubb apparently) and as we wandered back up to the cafe lined streets, Grubb stopped at a restaurant that looked good to both of us.
We shared a starter of baked Camembert. Now that was rich and yummy.
I ordered the salade niçoise. It was terrible. A plate of romaine lettuce, a few mealy tomatoes, 2 olives, 1 hidden slice of red pepper, two hard boiled egg halves, and a tasteless dressing that had a Roquefort look to it. Oh and 2 tiny anchovies and a big mound of tinned tuna – dry.
Good thing I’d ordered a glass of white wine to wash it down with. The wine was excellent (as you’d expect) and I wish I’d noted the name.
Grubb had ordered a grilled sea bass which he said was “fine”.
Feeling unsatisfied, when we saw a glacier on the way home, I couldn’t resist. Dark chocolate along with a scoop of mango sorbet rid my tastebuds of the lingering mealy tomato, dry tuna taste.
Sea Bass? We’d use that for bait around here!
And just what do you lure in with your sea bass?
When you get back to Albuquerque, maybe I should make you a very nice salad Niçoise. But I think that’ll have to wait till the summer when we can get decent tomatoes. And it is now essentially impossible to find Nicoise olives in Albuquerque. Groan…. (they used to have them occasionally at Whole Foods, but I haven’t seen them in well over a year.) and, oh yes, canned tuna is traditional, though lately I’ve been going with a small piece of grilled salmon. Probably against the rules, but it tastes nice.
It was the tuna…I’d passed by someone eating one with heaps of anchovies and was looking forward to those salty, tender morsels.