Sparkle Kitchen: Summer Salad
Martin and Sylvia enjoy this Summer Salad in the At Home with Martin & Sylvia story "Night Magic." It’s based on a Niçoise salad — a lovely plate of greens topped with a variety of good things: traditionally tuna, marinated green beans, potatoes, and anchovies. (The anchovies are key to the true French version.)
It’s lovely to make on a hot summer day, when you don’t want to do much in the way of cooking. And it’s a playful, not to mention elegant, way to present the bounty from the summer garden. It’s fun too — satisfying to those little people who prefer their dinner items separated on their plates (don’t let the pasta touch the salad!).
How do you make it? Create a bed of greens, and then nest lots of good options on top. Serve with a light vinaigrette.
What’s in Martin and Sylvia’s Summer Salad?
- salad greens
- canned tuna
- hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters
- tomatoes, cut into quarters
- mini-pickles
- olives
- boiled red potatoes
- and a lovely lemon vinaigrette
We’re positively bursting with salad greens and inspired by Martin and Sylvia to make this summery dinner!
The only thing you “cook” are the eggs and the potatoes, and it’s easy to whip up the dressing.
Summer Salad
For the lemon vinaigrette, I modified this recipe from SimplyRecipes.com:
Whisk the following ingredients together:
- ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the potatoes:
Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil, stirring in 1 tablespoon salt. Add 1.5 pounds of potatoes. Cook until they are tender (and easily pierced with a fork) — 5 to 8 minutes for small potatoes, and longer for larger ones. Transfer potatoes to a bowl and toss with ¼ cup vinaigrette.
If your garden is bursting with green beans, you can blanch and marinate those too. Just place trimmed green beans in boiling, salted water for several minutes until they are bright green, then drain and toss with the lemon vinaigrette.
But this is how Martin and Sylvia enjoy it — and they particularly like the little pickles and olives!
If you liked this recipe, here are others you might enjoy:
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About the Author
Lisabeth Sewell
Lisabeth Sewell has worn many hats at Sparkle over the years, from Sparkle Kitchen Blogger to Editorial Director to Doer of All Odd Jobs. Her primary role is as CEO.
