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Composed seared tuna nicoise plate with jammy eggs, green beans, olives, and lemon anchovy vinaigrette on marble

Seared Tuna Nicoise Plate

A French-style composed plate with seared rare tuna, waxy potatoes, green beans, jammy eggs, Nicoise olives, and anchovy vinaigrette.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 480

Ingredients
  

Tuna and marinade
  • 4 pieces, 150 g each ahi tuna steaks, about 2.5 cm thick sushi-grade preferred
  • 1 tbsp olive oil for searing
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
Salad components
  • 300 g baby Yukon Gold or fingerling potatoes halved
  • 200 g haricots verts or thin green beans trimmed
  • 4 large eggs for jammy 7-minute eggs
  • 80 g Nicoise olives pitted or unpitted
  • 200 g cherry tomatoes halved
  • 80 g mixed salad greens or butter lettuce
Anchovy vinaigrette
  • 3 oil-packed anchovy fillets finely minced
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 0.25 tsp fine sea salt
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper

Method
 

Cook the salad components
  1. Bring a medium saucepan of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 12 to 14 minutes until a knife slides in without resistance. Remove with a slotted spoon and let cool to room temperature.
  2. Return the same water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook for 3 minutes until bright green and just tender. Transfer to a bowl of ice water for 1 minute, then drain and pat dry.
  3. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Gently lower in the eggs and cook for exactly 7 minutes. Transfer immediately to ice water. Once cool enough to handle, peel and halve lengthwise.
Make the anchovy vinaigrette
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the minced anchovies, Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar until combined.
  2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking constantly until the dressing emulsifies and looks slightly thick. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Sear the tuna
  1. Pat the tuna steaks completely dry with paper towels. Season all sides with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat.
  3. Place the tuna steaks in the pan without moving them. Sear for 90 seconds until a dark crust forms on the bottom. Flip and sear the other side for 90 seconds. The center should remain pink and rare.
  4. Transfer to a cutting board and rest for 2 minutes. Slice against the grain at a 45-degree angle into 1 cm pieces.
Assemble the plate
  1. Divide the salad greens between 4 large flat plates as a base.
  2. Arrange the potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and olives in separate sections around each plate. Place 2 egg halves on each plate.
  3. Fan the sliced tuna across the center of each plate. Drizzle the anchovy vinaigrette generously over everything and serve immediately at room temperature.

Notes

Sushi-grade tuna gives the best result here, but any very fresh tuna from a reputable fishmonger works. If you prefer tuna cooked through, sear for 2.5 minutes per side.