Off to France: Salad Nicoise

Okay so not off to France yet! That doesn't happen until May when the company embarks on a long tour to Europe. I thought I would get inspired for my trip by making a Nicoise Salad. For an extra bonus I added quinoa and sun dried tomato tuna. You'll love the roasted tomatoes in the salad too!

I don't speak French and since this tour will we my fourth time in France I thought it would be good to try to learn some of the language. I bought one of those French in Five Minutes a Day books and actually opened it up yesterday! It was quite fun to do the worksheets and listen to the CD. We'll see if I can remember any of the actual phrases when I'm there.

On another note, since last Wednesday I have been sick. It's one of those yucky colds where my sinuses feel like they are going to explode! NOT FUN!! My weekend was pretty much spent napping and trying to fight this thing. The worst thing about a cold for a foodie like me is the loss of taste. Plus, I cannot have any wine or beer because if I can't taste it, what's the point?! I did concoct a relaxing hot toddy recipe that I drank the last two nights before I ran out of Bourbon. I'll post that recipe tomorrow! Stay healthy everyone...

Nicoise Salad with Quinoa 

*adapted from Everyday Food Magazine

Ingredients

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 4 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cans (5 ounces each) sun dried tomato tuna, drained and broken into chunks
• 1 bag/box mixed lettuce (or a head of bibb or romaine)
• 4 large hard-cooked eggs, halved
• 6 plum tomatoes, halved (roasted if desired, see below)
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives
• 1 cup cooked Quinoa
• Parsley

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook green beans until bright green and tender, 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, shallot, and oil and season with salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, combine tuna with half the vinaigrette and stir gently to combine.
2. Divide lettuce among four bowls. Top with tuna mixture, green beans, eggs, tomatoes, and olives, and quinoa; season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley, and drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve immediately.
   
   
   HOW TO ROAST THE TOMATOES:
   
   
   Drizzle 6 halved plum tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake, cut side up, at 300 degrees until juices release and tomatoes shrivel slightly, 1 1/2 hours.