Wintry niçoiseish salad

A classic salad gets a drastic makeover – all in the name of eating with the seasons and for good gut health.

Tagged as:

broccoli dairy-free dill dinner eggs fish green-beans lunch pescatarian potato salad sauerkraut tuna winter

Niçoise salad is one of my go-tos. It's quick, tasty and – apologies to the French – can easily be adapted to what’s in season. I may be stretching it a bit I know, but I feel as long as there’s some olives, eggs, greens, potatoes and a sour, oily dressing, it feels niçoisey enough for me.

I’ve made this version with the wintry season in mind, replacing much of the raw stuff – cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce – with steamed greens. My main goal, though, was to make it as gut-friendly as possible, which is why it contains:

Potatoes, which contain resistant starch. When cooked and cooled, they stimulate the production of good gut bacteria. Sprouts, since they’re packed with digestive enzymes and are easily assimilated. Sauerkraut, for a dose of probiotics. Onion, a good source of prebiotics. Apple cider vinegar, which helps improve digestion by increasing stomach acid.

As well of plenty of other good, healthy stuff.

Wintry niçoiseish salad

Serves 1

3 x baby potatoes (or 1 x normal potato, chopped into quarters)
1 x organic, free-range egg
1/4 x broccoli head, cut into florets
A handful of green beans, sliced into 3-cm lengths
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
A few leaves of something green (I used witloof here)
1 tin x MSC-certified tuna in spring water, drained
A handful of pitted olives
A handful of sprouts (I used alfalfa here)
2 TBSP x raw unpasteurized sauerkraut
A good dash each of raw apple cider vinegar (look for one with the 'mother' in it) and extra virgin olive oil
Fresh dill to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Once boiling, add the potatoes and egg and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done – prick them with a fork to check. Throw in the broccoli and green beans and cook, covered, for a further few minutes until the broccoli is tender but still has some bite to it.

Drain, remove the eggs, then return the rest to the saucepan (off the heat) with the red onion. This will allow the onion to cook slightly, making it easier to digest. Transfer to a serving bowl. Peel the egg, then cut into quarters.

Add all remaining ingredients to the bowl and top with the egg and some fresh dill if desired.