the Older Bolder Life Salad Wednesday: Primal Green Bean Nicoise Salad with Tuna and Crispy Sweet Potatoes

Like many of you, we’re always on the search for new and interesting salads, slaws, and other ways to enjoy lots of colorful, healthy, and tasty vegetables.

Here’s a nifty primal / paleo spin on a classic, what we’re now calling our Primal Green Bean Nicoise Salad with Tuna and Crispy Sweet Potatoes. The sweet potatoes are subbed in for the baby russets or red potatoes in the classic version, and you’ll use eggs from pastured chickens, healthy oil in the dressing, add a burst of lemon, fresh dill, and radishes (use several varieties for interest, taste, and color). It’s also a piece of cake to crumble some wild caught canned tuna onto this one to up the protein component and add some wonderful flavor to the dish, though you don’t absolutely have to have it.

Three quick thoughts on this recipe: One, consider prepping and cooking the sweet potatoes, eggs, and green beans ahead of time; then chill and hold (separately) in the fridge until ready to put the salad together. This recipe at first glance seems a bit complicated, but in reality, it’s really not at all, and by following the sequence I’ve laid it, it flows very well. Doing a little cooking ahead will just shorten your assembly time later in the day.

Two, the dressing is outrageously good, consider making a double recipe and holding for other salads this week. And three, the crispy capers (pictured below) sounded a little fussy to me at first, though they’re incredibly simple to prepare, and really add a nifty taste and texture element to this one.

My lovely wife enjoyed this one so much, she’s insisting it become a standard in our summer rotation…

1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1-inch thick slices
4-5 pastured eggs
1 and 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and washed

For the dressing
1 medium shallot, trimmed, and minced
3 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp + 1 tsp good Dijon mustard
2 tsp honey or maple syrup
2 tsp fresh lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/4 tsp good salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil)

To finish the salad
1-2 bunches breakfast (or other) radishes, trimmed, larger ones quartered
1/2 cup or more Nicoise or Kalamata olives, pitted, halved if large
1/4 cup capers, drained, crisped in pan (see below)
1-2 cans wild caught tuna, drained, crumbled
1 tbsp (or more) fresh dill, chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; prep the sweet potato and greens beans while waiting.

Parboil the sweet potato slices for 10-12 minutes until a fork penetrates easily; remove from the water, drain, and cut into medium dice when cool enough to handle. Sauté in butter, avocado, or olive oil until edges are crispy and browned, then set aside to cool (when cool hold in fridge).

When the sweet potato comes out, drop the eggs into the boiling water and boil for eight minutes for perfectly jammy yolks (or longer to suit you); when done, drop into an ice-water bath, then peel when cool.

When the eggs come out, bring the water back to a full boil, then cook the green beans 2-4 minutes until bright green and crisp-tender; remove immediately to an ice-water bath, chill for 5-7 minutes, drain, and pat dry.

If you haven’t during the cooking sequence above, whisk the dressing ingredients together, save for the olive oil, which is poured slowly in a steady stream while whisking away. Set aside in the fridge.

If using the crispy capers, and you should, pat the capers dry, then sauté in 2 tbsp of the oil of your choice over moderate heat until they being pop and get brown and crispy. Set aside.

To assemble the salad, begin by drizzling roughly 1/3 of the dressing over the green beans in a large bowl, toss to coat, then arrange on a large platter. Repeat with the potato pieces and then the radishes, using 1 tbsp of dressing for each in the same bowl you tossed the green beans in, and arranging each artfully on the platter.

Quarter the eggs; place the eggs and the olives on the green bean bed, then place the tuna as well . Now drizzle the salad with the remaining dressing, top with the crispy capers, and finally the remaining fresh dill.

Enjoy.