No cooking needed for this special salad
Make this quick Niçoise Salad for a family meal at home.
The typical ingredients are tuna, green beans, olives and tomatoes. Here the salad is made with bought roasted chicken breast instead of tuna — no cooking needed. Canned potatoes also simplify the preparation. The green beans cook in the microwave. The microwave bowls can go right in the dishwasher. No pans to clean. So, cleanup is a breeze.
You can add any other greens or leftover vegetables to the salad. I chose these ingredients to give a variety of textures, colors and flavors. Use the recipe as a base and create your own salad.
A fresh roasted or rotisserie chicken breast is cooked on the bone and generally is moist and flavorful. There also are many packaged brands of roasted chicken breast that are boned, skinned and cut ready to use. These work fine in the recipe and will shorten the preparation time.
Wine writer Fred Tasker suggests a nice, crisp Chablis from the chardonnay grape to go with this multi-flavor French dish.
If you prefer, dill, chives or other herbs can be used instead of the tarragon in the dressing. Any type of lettuce can be used.Yield: 2 servings½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)¾ roasted chicken breast, bones and skin removed¼ cup reduced-fat oil and vinegar dressing1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon2 tablespoons diced red onion¾ pound or 2 cups drained small whole canned potatoes, cut in quartersSalt and freshly ground black pepper4 cups French-style washed, ready-to-eat salad2 medium tomatoes cut into wedges¼ whole wheat baguettePlace green beans in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high 2 minutes.Remove skin and bones from chicken and cut into 2-inch pieces.Add dressing to a bowl and add the tarragon, onion, potatoes and green beans. Toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste.Place greens on a serving platter. Spoon potatoes and beans onto lettuce. Arrange tomato wedges on the platter. Arrange the chicken on the platter. Pour remaining dressing over the chicken and tomatoes.Serve with baguette.
