Recipe

Layered Tuna Nicoise Salad

Ingredients

1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 1/2 pounds red boiling potatoes, cooked until just tender and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Four 6-ounce cans solid white albacore tuna packed in spring water, drained
1/2 pound green beans, ends trimmed, blanched until crisp-tender
3/4 pound ripe Roma tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced (1 cup)
1/2 cup black olives, such as Nicoise or Kalamata, pitted and halved
1/2 cup green olives, pitted and halved
2 tablespoons capers, drained
4 to 6 anchovies (optional)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
French Vinaigrette [2]

Layer the ingredients in a large serving bowl in the order in which they are listed. (Note: a clear glass bowl works best for this salad.) Chill well until ready to serve, at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours. Make the salad dressing while the salad is chilling and refrigerate in a nonreactive container, or make the dressing up to 1 day in advance.
Just before serving, drizzle some of the dressing over the salad. Serve the remaining dressing on the side. (Alternatively, serve the dressing separately and allow guests to dress their own salads - this way the salad will not become limp or soggy if it has to sit for any length of time.)