Seared Tuna Nicoise with Lemon-Caper Dressing

⏱ 40 min · Serves 4

All the sunny flavours of the classic Provencal salad, but with quickly seared tuna steaks instead of tinned fish. Warm new potatoes and crisp green beans soak up a punchy lemon-caper dressing, and jammy soft-boiled eggs tie it all together. A proper one-plate summer supper.

Per serving: 540 kcal · 29.0g protein · 25.0g carbs · 37.0g fat

Ingredients

• 400g baby new potatoes, halved if large
• 200g green beans, trimmed
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tuna steaks (about 150g each)
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for searing
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 100g black olives (Nicoise or Kalamata), pitted
• 4 anchovy fillets in oil, halved lengthways (optional)
• 1 small head Little Gem or butter lettuce, leaves separated
• 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• Small handful basil leaves
• For the dressing: 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Put the potatoes in a pan of well-salted cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 12-15 minutes until tender. Add the green beans for the last 3 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans briefly under cold water to keep them bright; leave the potatoes to steam-dry.
2. Meanwhile, lower the eggs into a separate pan of boiling water and cook for 7 minutes for jammy yolks. Transfer to cold water, then peel and halve.
3. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a jar or bowl until emulsified. Season to taste - it should be sharp and salty.
4. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the dressing over the warm potatoes and toss; they'll drink it in.
5. Pat the tuna steaks very dry and season generously. Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan over high heat until just smoking. Sear the tuna for 1-2 minutes per side for rare in the middle (longer if you prefer it cooked through). Rest on a board for 3 minutes, then slice thickly against the grain.
6. Arrange the lettuce leaves over a large platter. Scatter over the potatoes, beans, tomatoes, olives, red onion and anchovies, if using.
7. Lay the sliced tuna on top, nestle in the egg halves, and spoon over the remaining dressing. Finish with basil leaves and a good grind of black pepper. Serve straight away with crusty bread.