I love making a Niçoise salad. With crisp vegetables, jammy eggs, and quality tuna, it becomes a satisfying dinner salad. The star for me is the Creamy Chive Citrus Dressing — a silky, bright dressing that lifts every component and brings the whole salad together.
Chives are one of my favorite understated seasonings. They add a fresh, mild onion note with a hint of sweetness that doesn’t overpower other flavors. Too often they’re treated as a mere garnish, but used well—like in this dressing—they bring subtle complexity to many savory dishes, especially a classic Niçoise.
Inspired by that delicate onion flavor, I developed a creamy chive-citrus dressing that’s balanced, tangy, and a little tangy-smooth thanks to the egg emulsion. It’s terrific on this salad and adaptable to other greens, roasted vegetables, or as a dipping sauce.
This Niçoise is flexible—use the recipe below as a framework and adapt quantities or ingredients to what’s in season or what you prefer. I like to finish the salad with marinated red onions for a bright, sweet-savory accent.
Make the dressing ahead and chill it so it thickens a bit. When you assemble the salad, arrange the elements on a platter so each person can help themselves to the variety of textures and flavors: tender potatoes, crisp beans, juicy tomatoes, crunchy radishes, creamy eggs, and flaky tuna. Sprinkle with chopped chives for a final lift and serve extra dressing on the side.
Niçoise Salad with Creamy Chive Dressing
- Author: Teri Turner
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Niçoise salad is ideal for a family dinner or a casual dinner party — colorful, composed, and full of contrasting textures and flavors.
Ingredients
For the Creamy Chive Citrus Dressing:
1 large egg
3/4 cup light olive oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 anchovy (optional)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the salad:
2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
8 ounces green beans
1 pound baby potatoes
4 large eggs
4 ounces baby romaine lettuce (or mixed greens)
Marinated red onions (use sparingly for flavor and oil)
2 (4.5-ounce) cans high-quality tuna, preferably packed in olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or seasonal tomatoes)
4 Persian cucumbers, sliced
1/2 cup radishes, halved or quartered
Freshly ground black pepper
Chives, chopped, to garnish
Instructions
Make the dressing:
In a wide-mouth jar, place the egg and, using an immersion blender, slowly add the light olive oil while blending until the mixture emulsifies and thickens. Add the chopped chives, lemon juice, shallots, apple cider vinegar, pressed garlic, anchovy (if using), hot sauce, lemon zest, and salt. Blend until smooth, then cover and refrigerate while you prepare the salad so the dressing firms slightly.
Prepare the salad:
Prepare two bowls of iced water and set them aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons kosher salt.
Add the green beans and cook about 5 minutes, until tender-crisp. Remove them with a slotted spoon and plunge into one bowl of iced water to stop cooking. After about 5 minutes, drain and pat dry. Set aside.
In the same boiling water, add the baby potatoes and cook until tender, about 12–15 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet to cool. When cool enough to handle, gently smash them with the back of a spoon for texture.
Return the water to a boil if needed and add the eggs. Boil for 7 1/2 to 8 minutes for jammy yolks. Transfer the eggs to the second bowl of iced water, cool briefly, peel, and halve immediately.
To assemble: Arrange the greens on a large platter. Season lightly with salt and drizzle some oil from the marinated red onions over the lettuce. Arrange the tuna, green beans, smashed potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and halved eggs over the greens. Add a few spoonfuls of marinated red onions and their oil, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and drizzle the creamy chive-citrus dressing over the top. Garnish generously with chopped chives and serve any extra dressing on the side. Enjoy.