Fish-free salad niçoise

Without any tuna or anchovies, I guess you might upset the good people of Nice a bit with this one, but it is an exceptionally delicious and substantial salad - with plenty going on. I like to cook the eggs so they are hard-boiled but with the yolk still quite soft and sticky.

ingredients

• 500g new potatoes
• 200g French beans, cut into roughly 3cm lengths
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2-3 Little Gem or similar lettuces
• A handful of small black olives
• About 12 large basil leaves, torn (or use small ones whole)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

DRESSING

• ½ small garlic clove, crushed with a little coarse sea salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• A pinch of sugar

method

You can cook small new potatoes whole, but cut any larger ones in half or smaller, so they’re all roughly the same size. Cover with cold water, add salt and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8-12 minutes until tender, adding the beans for the last 4 minutes. Drain, tip into a bowl and leave to cool.

To cook the eggs, bring a pan of water to the boil. Add the eggs, return to a simmer, then cook for 7 minutes. Lightly crack the shells and run the eggs under cold water for a minute or two to stop the cooking, then leave to cool. Peel and quarter the eggs.

To make the dressing, put all the ingredients into a screw-topped jar, seasoning with salt and pepper, and shake until emulsified.

Halve, quarter or thickly slice the cooked potatoes. Put them back with the beans, add some of the dressing and toss gently together.

Separate the lettuce leaves and gently toss in a bowl with a little of the dressing. Arrange the lettuce, potatoes and beans on a serving platter and distribute the olives and eggs over the salad. Scatter with torn basil, trickle over the remaining dressing and grind over some pepper.

Serve straight away, with bread.