Inspiration on 'Roids - New England Nicoise, Nicoise Peruvienne

Yup, this bacon, butter, steak, mayonnaise, sour cream, cheese, and pork rind-loving blogger is writing an entire post about salad.  But I'm not writing about rabbit food; I'm writing about new twists on an old favorite, and I'm writing about a salad that is substantial enough to take center stage.  I'm writing about Salade Nicoise.  No lightweight, this French classic contains potatoes, green beans, hard-cooked eggs, olives, tomatoes, tuna and anchovies, nestled in a bed of rich butter lettuce and dressed with tangy dijon vinaigrette.  This is not a dish that will leave you hungry. 

So what happens when this French salad meets ingredients native to my side of the Atlantic?  Magic.  Pure magic happens.  The two salads I created were not planned; rather, I got a boatload of inspiration during one random food shopping excursion and decided to try something new, and the results may be two of my favorite creations to date. 

It all started with a batch of purple potatoes. 


Purple potato cross-section


We've all seen red and yellow potatoes, but purple ones are far less common, at least here in Northern New England.  However, in Peru, the potato's homeland, potatoes come in a variety of colors spanning the rainbow.  When I saw purple potatoes at the market, I loaded them into my basket.  I had no idea what I'd do with them, but I never worry about that until after I'm home and all my groceries are put away.  I started to think - I could boil them?  I could bake or roast them?  Potato salad?  Boring, boring, boring.  I then started to scan my brain for recipes containing potatoes where the color would really stand out, and I came up with salade nicoise.  I felt wicked smart until I thought, "Purple potatoes in a salad?  So f***ing what?"  I knew color alone wouldn't lift my dish from ordinary to extraordinary, but then it hit me - I could add a little aji.  Aji is a traditional Peruvian condiment made from chiles, garlic, and olive oil, and it turns everything it touches to gold.  OK, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's really damn good.  Once I had aji on my brain, my ideas started snowballing until I realized that I could replace tuna with ceviche, another Peruvian specialty.  And just like that, I created a recipe. 

I couldn't wait to test my recipe, so I ran to the store to pick up all the ingredients I'd need for the ceviche, the aji sauce, and the salad itself.  Cod?  Check.  Chiles?  Check.  Tomatoes?  Check.  Wait - what's that in that bin over there?  Ohhh Lord...I found fiddleheads. 



Fiddlehead

For those of you who don't live in Northern New England, fiddleheads are the edible fronds of young ostrich ferns.  You cannot visit a market in Maine during late spring without seeing at least one basket of fresh fiddleheads.  When steamed or lightly boiled, they retain their bright grass-green color and crunch, and they taste like a green bean/artichoke hybrid.  And face it - they look wicked awesome! 

Back to my market trip - I saw the fiddleheads and knew I had to have them.  While picking through the basket for the smallest, most tightly coiled fiddleheads, my mental wheels began turning and trying to come up with a plan for the fiddleheads.  They're good with just a little salt, pepper, and butter; they're great with hollandaise, and they can replace green beans in any dish.

Waaaiiittt a minute - green beans are used in salade nicoise...use the fiddleheads instead of green beans, and voila!  New England Nicoise.  Hmm, what other ingredients scream "New England?" and would also work in a salad?  Duhhh, lobster!  I'm sure the other market patrons were quite amused seeing this tiny little girl talking to herself out loud and stopping dead in her tracks to turn around and go pick up another ingredient when the light bulb went off over her head, but that's how I roll when inspiration skyrockets.  I whirled around the store like a madwoman, throwing ingredients into my basket and at the same time writing memos to myself on my iPhone so I wouldn't forget my ideas. 

Getting inspired was the easy part.  The hard part was the prep work, especially for Nicoise Peruvienne, which is a recipe within a recipe within a recipe.  While nothing in these recipes is difficult, the process is time consuming.  The most important part of preparing this dish is your mise en place, which is a fancy-schmancy chef term meaning "having one's $#!t together."  Once all the prep work is out of the way, this salad goes together in under 10 minutes, but if you try to assemble it while boiling potatoes, cooking eggs, making vinaigrette, etc., you'll be making a lot of extra work for yourself, and the process will be needlessly stressful. 

If you come across fiddleheads or purple potatoes, do try these two salads.  They are delicious, fun to make, and both are guaranteed to be great talking points if you serve them to guests. 



New England Nicoise

2-4 cups butter lettuce, torn
1/2 lb. baby potatoes, quartered
2 roma tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
2 hard-cooked eggs, quartered lengthwise
1/2 lb. fiddleheads, steamed
1 lb. cooked lobster meat, chopped
8 black olives, pitted
vinaigrette

Boil the potatoes and steam the fiddleheads in advance.  Let chill for at least two hours. 

Assemble the salads.  Fill 2 large bowls with equal amounts of lettuce, then arrange the potatoes, tomato, and egg in a decorative pattern along the edge of the bowl.  Add the fiddleheads and lobster meat to the center, then dress with desired amount of vinaigrette.


Vinaigrette

1 garlic clove, smashed
1 t. dijon mustard
2 T. tarragon vinegar
1/3 c. olive oil
salt & pepper

Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least an hour.  Remove the garlic clove, whisk again, then use to dress New England Nicoise. 

Nicoise Peruvienne

2-4 c. butter lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
2 roma tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 avocado, sliced lengthwise
2 hard-cooked eggs, quartered lengthwise
1/4 lb. green beans, steamed
2-4 purple potatoes, quartered lengthwise
2 cups ceviche
aji vinaigrette

Begin prep at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours, ahead.  Prepare the ceviche style whitefish, hard-cooked eggs, and the aji vinaigrette (recipes below).  Boil the potatoes and steam the green beans, let both cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until it is time to assemble the salads. 

Assemble the salads.  Fill 2 large bowls with equal amounts of lettuce, then arrange the tomato, avocado, and egg in a decorative pattern along the edge of the bowl.  Add the potatoes, green beans, and ceviche, then dress with desired amount of aji vinaigrette. 



Ceviche

1/2 lb. cod or other firm whitefish, cut into chunks
1 serrano chile, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 c. freshly squeezed lime juice
salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a nonmetallic bowl.  Cover and let marinate in the fridge, stirring occasionally.  Marinate at least 4 hours; preferably overnight. 


Aji Vinaigrette

1T. aji sauce (recipe below)
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 2 limes
1/2 c. olive oil.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until blended.  Use to dress Nicoise Peruvienne.  Any leftover vinaigrette can be used on chicken, fish, potatoes, vegetables, rice...you name it. 


Aji Sauce

5 habanero peppers (can use a milder pepper if you can't take the heat of habaneros)
2 cloves garlic
1 T. chopped cilantro
salt & pepper
splash olive oil

Combine ingredients in a blender and puree until a thick, consistent paste is formed.  Use in Aji Vinaigrette.