Fresh Tuna Salade Niçoise

Monday 14 July

We chose Salade Niçoise as something French and summery for la fête nationale du 14 juillet.  We actually want to celebrate this at the Eastern State Penetentiary in Philadelphia, as Helene described it some years ago, though actual France was also pretty good.

First we parboiled some green beans, then new potatoes, in salted water, and dressed them with red wine vinaigrette.  Plated them on a layer of dressed garden salad leaves, strewed some Moroccan olives over the top, white anchovies on the potatoes, and in the center, an inch-thick steak of fresh albacore tuna, which we'd seared on each side and poached with a douse of white wine.  We sprinkled some capers on top, as well as the rest of the dressing from the bowl, and took this photo.  

But wait!  We almost forgot the tomatoes!  So on they went, and in we dug.