Recipes: The best salad Niçoise

Balmy days and nights call for light dishes that are as easy to prepare as they are packed with summer flavour. This salad ticks all the boxes

ngredients

• 100g runner beans , sliced
• 4 eggs
• 4 medium new potatoes , cooked and sliced
• 8 cherry tomatoes , halved
• a handful of lettuce leaves
• 400g tuna in brine or spring water, drained and kept in large chunks
• 4 anchovies fillets
• 16 olives
• olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

  

  1. Bring a pan of water to the boil, cook the beans for 1 minute in the boiling water, then lift out and refresh under cold running water. Turn down the heat, add the eggs to the pan and simmer for 5-6 minutes (or 3-4 minutes if you like the yolks really runny). Plunge into cold water. When they're cool enough to handle, drain, shell and cut into quarters.
  2. In a large bowl mix together the potatoes, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, tuna, anchovies, olives, 4 tbsp olive oil, the vinegar and some seasoning and carefully toss. Serve topped with the egg.

  Know-how

  Go for hand-filleted and packed tuna - it has a firm texture that stays in good-sized chunks. Most supermarkets stock a speciality brand in either tins or jars.