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The essential historical basis to memorize is that salad from Nice is in reality a simple tomato salad which has been transmitted orally through the ages. Can cookbook talk about it. The original traditional recipe is only based on raw vegetables.

It has evolved and there are some variations depending on the season and the gardens, but there is also an invariable base that gives all the flavors and personality of this timeless salad. Then, thousands of different variations are found on the plates and are delicious. We should not call them « Salad from Nice » but mixed or revisited salad, like that of a famous chef, born in Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice who revisits Salad from Nice and adds potatoes and cooked green beans which, in my opinion, completely distorts the taste and the simple, raw and quick spirit of the recipe.

The salad was made from seasonal, simple, local and inexpensive ingredients. In the 19th century, tuna was an expensive fish, reserved for the bourgeoisie and was not used in the composition of Niçoise salad unlike anchovy, which was popular and accessible to all. Now, among all merchants, anchovies have become a luxury product.

Base of Salad from Nice Ingredients

• 1 beautiful Coeur de Boeuf from Nice tomato (200 or 300g)
• 2 Cebettes (cousin of the spring onion)
• 1 green pepper salad.
• 1 hard-boiled egg or 2 for gourmands
• Some anchovy fillet or tuna in olive oil or both 😉
• Some black olives from Nice
• Fresh basil leaves.
• Garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.

Depending on the season, the tastes and possibilities of each person, we add:

• A few radishes cut into slices. Season from March to June.
• A few raw beans or which will be immersed for 2 minutes in boiling water and cooled. Season from April to July.
• Artichoke hearts with peppers in olive oil. Season from March to May and from July to September.

Preparation of raw vegetables and eggs

• Preparation of raw vegetables
  • Tomatoes
    • I washed all my raw vegetables thoroughly.
    • My favorite for this salad is the Cœur de Bœuf tomato from Nice. It is old and comes from the Nice region. Its flesh is dense and tasty, poor in seeds, and it is especially appreciated raw as in this typical Nice recipe.
    • I cut my beef heart tomatoes into slices.
    • I remove the white parts and prepare diced tomatoes like a brunoise.
    • I salt, pepper and reserve.

• « Salad » peppers
  • Beef horn pepper is an elongated vegetable available from June to September, which resembles chili but is sweet and sweet, perfect for salads.
  • I cut the tail and open them in half at white skin.
  • I empty the pepper.
  • I cut them into strips.

• Radishes
  • I remove the ends and cut them into cubes.
  • Radish is in peak season from March to June.
• The spring onions
  • Fresh spring onions grow from April until October. It is regularly confused with spring onion, even though it is a very different variation. This plant is differentiated thanks to its underdeveloped bulb, of elongated shape which is confused with its stem. It is ideal in Niçoise salad.
  • I remove the ends (roots and dry leaves) and finely slice them.

• Garlic
  • I remove the pods and finely chop them.
• Fresh basil leaves
  • I gather a few leaves and slice them finely.

Arrange the salad on the plate

• I place 3 mesclun leaves on my plate which will help me form a mountain of tomatoes. You can add a little green salad to decorate the plate, but the base is tomatoes.
• I place all the ingredients one by one on the plate.
• After the quartered eggs, I add the anchovy fillets which I have finely resized to reduce the taste and scattered it more effectively in the salad.
• I finish with chopped garlic, spring onions, basil leaves and Nice olives.
• For decoration, I nicely place 3 sprigs of spring onions on the salad.
• I end up seasoning the salad with salt, pepper and olive oil from Nice production.
• Personally, I add a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, because it is the vinegar that I prefer with tomatoes, but you can replace it with the more traditional wine vinegar.

Tips and advice for the salad from Nice

• I prefer to use large « beef heart » tomatoes for their flavor and dicing.
• All aromatics allow you to season the salad, but you can provide a simple vinaigrette, based on olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and pepper to accompany the salad.(Basic vinaigrette reminder: 1 volume of vinegar to 3 volumes of oil, salt and pepper).
• All the restaurants that transform Salad from Nice into a common green salad shame the profession and Nice cuisine. That’s said! Less serious, but still, we must point out the restaurateurs who increase their margin by changing the ingredients: basic green salads instead of tomatoes, large green or black olives instead of small Nice olives, normal onions instead of spring onions, peppers instead of salad peppers, celery stalks instead of fresh basil leaves. BEWARE OF SCAMS!