Eat Recipes

Seared Tuna Nicoise Recipe by Isabelle Dunn

Welcome to my signature take on salad niçoise, featuring fresh tuna, crispy potatoes, soft-boiled eggs and blanched green beans. Each ingredient stands out individually and combines perfectly with the zingy, flavourful dressing that brings it all together beautifully.

This is an edited extract from Bon App by Isabelle Dunn. Copyright 2025 Isabelle Dunn. Available from all book retailers.

Ingredients (serves 4)

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) small potatoes, unpeeled and halved

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus a little more to rub on the tuna

4 large eggs

200 g (7 oz) green beans, trimmed

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) tuna steak

4 tomatoes, chopped

45 g (⅓ cup) pitted black olives, halved

DRESSING

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

juice of ½ lemon

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

125 ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil

1 shallot, finely sliced

2 tablespoons capers, drained

2 tinned anchovy fillets, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced.

Put the potato on a baking tray, toss in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes or until crispy.

To make the dressing, whisk the red wine vinegar and lemon juice with the Dijon mustard and olive oil in a small bowl. Once emulsified, stir in the shallot, capers, anchovy fillets, garlic and parsley. Mix well, adjusting the oil and seasoning to taste.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Soft boil the eggs for 7 minutes, adding the green beans after 3 minutes. Drain and plunge everything into the iced water to stop the cooking process. Peel the eggs and cut in half. Reserve the beans.

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Rub the tuna with olive oil and season. Cook for 2–3 minutes on each side until seared on the outside but rare in the middle. Remove from the pan, let rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly.

To assemble the salad, arrange the potato, green beans, tomato and olives on a large platter. Top with the egg halves and tuna slices. Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

This is an edited extract from Bon App by Isabelle Dunn. Copyright 2025 Isabelle Dunn. Available from all book retailers.

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