Tuna niçoise salad jars
45 min · 33 g protein · 370 cals / serving
The salad of the French Riviera, layered into jars: a sharp Dijon vinaigrette at the bottom, then tender new potatoes, snappy green beans, sweet tomatoes, flaked tuna with capers, black olives and just-firm eggs, with soft butter lettuce on top. Tip it into a bowl at lunch and everything gets dressed on the way out.
Ingredients
- 14 oz new potatoes, halved
- 3/4 tsp salt, plus more for the cooking water
- 9 oz green beans, trimmed
- 4 large eggs
Vinaigrette
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp water
- 4 cans (5 oz each), drained canned tuna
- 1 tbsp capers, drained, plus 1 tbsp of their brine
- zest of 1 lemon lemon zest
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup black olives, niçoise or other small black olives
- 4 fillets anchovies (optional)
- 1 head butterhead lettuce, leaves torn
Steps
- Put the potatoes in a pan of cold, well-salted water, bring to a boil and simmer for 12–15 minutes until a knife slides in easily. Add the green beans for the last 3–4 minutes, so they are bright green and still snappy. Drain and plunge into ice water, then drain again and dry well on a towel.
- Lower the eggs into simmering water and cook for 10 minutes, so the yolks are set but still bright. Cool in ice water, peel and quarter.
- Shake the oil, vinegar, Dijon, lemon juice, shallot, parsley, the salt, pepper and water in a jar until creamy. Toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of it, then divide the rest among four 1-liter (32-oz) jars.
- Flake the tuna into chunks and toss it with the capers, the caper brine and the lemon zest. Layer each jar: potatoes on the dressing, then green beans, tomatoes, tuna, olives, anchovies if using, egg quarters, and the lettuce packed on top. Seal.
- At lunch, tip the jar into a bowl (or shake it hard with the lid on) so the dressing coats everything on the way out.
Good to know
How long do the jars keep?
Up to 4 days in the fridge. Pack them on Sunday night and you have lunch until Thursday. The order matters: the wet dressing stays at the bottom with the potatoes, which only get better sitting in it, and the lettuce stays dry on top.
How do I pack it without a jar?
Any tall container works the same way, dressing first and lettuce last. Without a lid you can shake, pack the vinaigrette in a small pot and pour it over at lunch.
Tuna in olive oil instead?
It is the classic choice in Provence and very good. Drain it well; it adds calories, so it scores about 63 instead of 72.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 77
- Protein
- (37%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (35%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (29%)
- 6 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 209 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1481 kcal goes into the pot and 1937 g of ingredients comes out as about 1935 g of food: 77 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.