Salade Niçoise according to Ange

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 garlic clove(s), halved
• 4 large tomatoes, firm-fleshed, cut into quarters or eighths
• 1 cucumber(s), peeled, halved and sliced
• 2 pointed peppers, green, cleaned and cut into fine strips
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 4 egg(s), hard-boiled, quartered
• 8 anchovy fillets, pickled in brine, rinsed well
• 1 handful of black olives, pitted
• 1 handful of basil, picked leaves
• salt and pepper
• 6 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 15 minutes

a classic version, according to my neighbor’s recipe

Ange was of Italian descent, grew up in Provence, and was quite particular about the ingredients for the Salade Niçoise. “His” salad included everything his Provençal garden had to offer, but never cooked, only raw (no potatoes, no cooked beans), and never tuna and anchovies together. And: no vinegar, but plenty of olive oil instead. I adopted his recipe without any changes. Like him, I almost never use tuna, preferring anchovy fillets, and only prepare the salad when my own tomatoes in the garden are ripe. I haven’t yet seen anyone peel the tomatoes for this salad, but anyone with a sensitive stomach can certainly do so. I arrange the salad in a large, shallow bowl, which I rub with a clove of garlic. I then arrange the tomatoes, cucumbers, spring onions, and bell peppers, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with the egg quarters and anchovy fillets. I halve the black olives and add them to the salad, then sprinkle with basil. Only once the salad is on the table do I add a generous amount of olive oil and toss it thoroughly. Because the salad is very filling, I never serve it as an appetizer, but rather as a small lunch or dinner. It’s served with white bread.