Recipe : Niçoise salad

Wow! The weather up here has been very Mediterranean-like. It is highly highly unusual and to top it all, I misplaced my factor 20 suncream! Grrr
I don't know about you but in this heat all want to eat is cold food and salad of which the Niçoise salad is my absolute favourite. It's quite substantial too and guaranteed to keep hunger away for good few hours.

This recipe (without anchovies) is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage fame
Serves 2
Ingredients for salad

• 100g new potatoes
• 100g trimmed beans
• 2 eggs
• tin of tuna in oil
• 2 or 3 little gem lettuces
• small handful of black pitted olives

Ingredients for dressing

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil (use the oil from the tin of tuna)
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• half tsp Dijon mustard
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Cook the new potatoes in salted water until tender. Add the beans to the saucepan 5 minutes before the potatoes are ready to take out. Drain and leave to cool.
• Boil your eggs until for 5 minutes until hard boiled.
• Open your tin of tuna and drain. Set aside some of the oil for the dressing. Break tuna into chunks.
• Make your dressing by mixing all the ingredients together.
• Build up your salad in layers. Start with the lettuce leaves and use a shallow serving dish. Now distribute your cooked potatoes on top.
• Strew your beans on next and trickle some of your dressing over the salad. Next come the eggs and the olives, with a little more dressing. Finally add the tuna chunks, with a spoonful of dressing to finish it all off. 
• Eat straight away. Preferably outside and in the shade with a well-chilled rosé.