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Autumn Salade Niçoise with Quail Eggs

A lovely autumn rendition of our favourite composed salad. Maple syrup, apple cider, roasted potatoes and salmon and elegant quail eggs turn this delicious salad into a wonderful brunch or a light dinner.
Course Salad
Cuisine French, North American
Keyword apple cider vinegar, fingerling potatoes, green beans, maple syrup, nicoise olive, quail eggs, salmon
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Salmon and Glaze

  • 1 lb wild salmon filet(s), about 1-1.5 inch thick, 454 grams

Glaze

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp real maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp grainy or coarse mustard
  • 2 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove minced finely
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

Salad Additions

  • 1/2 lb heirloom fingerling or baby potatoes, halved, 225 grams
  • 2 tsp evoo
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
  • 1/4 tsp thyme leaves
  • 1/2 lb haricot verts, or green beans, 225 grams
  • 15 hard boiled quail eggs, can be prepared in advance, see Notes
  • 4 oz 100 grams little gems lettuce, tear the leaves if large
  • 1/3 cup pitted niçoise or kalamata olives
  • 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
  • flakey salt and coarse pepper for finishing

Maple Cider Vinaigrette, can be made in advance

  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2/3 cup olive oil

Instructions

Vinaigrette

  1. Combine the vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper in a jar with a lid. Whisk or shake the lid till everything is well combined. Drizzle in the olive oil, whisking all the while. Taste and re-season as desired. Set aside till needed.  If you made this the day before, bring it to room temperature and shake before using.

Salmon Glaze

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place a rack in the centre setting of the oven. Have 2 baking sheets ready, lining one baking sheet with foil.
  2. Prepare the salmon glaze by placing all the glaze ingredients into a small pot. Bring it to a rolling simmer and cook till it becomes slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, and set aside.
  3. Pat the salmon dry.

Potatoes

  1. Place the potatoes in a medium pot, cover with water and 2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium heat and cover partially, cook for 8-10 minutes, or until a knife can slip in with no resistance.
  2. Drain the potatoes and toss the potatoes with 2 teaspoons olive oil, the salt and pepper and thyme. Spread on the prepared baking sheet without the parchment. Roast for 10 minutes.

Salmon

  1. Meanwhile prep the salmon filet(s)
  2. Place the salmon skin side down onto the foil lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Brush half of the glaze all over the salmon. After the 10 minutes, push the baking sheet with the potatoes to one side and add the baking sheet with the salmon onto the rack.
  3. Roast everything until salmon is cooked through, and potatoes are golden brown and crisp, around another 15-18 minutes. Brush the salmon with the remaining glaze, and turn the potatoes once. If one is ready before the other, remove and let rest. You are looking for the salmon to be warm pink in the middle, and flakey. Baste any glaze that has dripped down onto the salmon and let it reset for 5 minutes tented loosely with foil. Remove the potatoes to large bowl.

  4. When the salmon and potatoes are almost finished baking, steam the beans:

  5. Place 1 inch of water into a pot and add a steamer basket. Lay the beans into the basket and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil and steam for for 2 minutes or until crispy tender, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.

  6. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Dry the green beans off with a paper towel. Add them to the bowl with the potatoes. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette.

Assemble

  1. Add the little gems lettuce leaves to a large platter or salad bowl. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss to coat.

  2. Use a fork to flake the rested salmon into large pieces.
  3. Arrange the salmon on top of the lettuce in one section of the platter, followed by the potatoes. Nestle the green beans in as well as the tomatoes and olives. Arrange the hard-boiled quail eggs in the centre. Season everything with salt and pepper and then drizzle with more vinaigrette. Serve with more vinaigrette on the side.

Recipe Notes

To make hard-boiled quail eggs:

Place the eggs you want to boil into a small pot and cover with cold water and 1/2 tsp of baking soda (the baking soda will help the shell separate from the egg).  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  As soon as the water comes to a boil, put a lid on the pot and remove it from the heat.  Let it sit for 6 minutes.  Then drain the hot water and run the eggs under cold water for 30-40 seconds.

Place 5 or so eggs at a time in a small food storage container (not glass) with a lid. Pour about 2 tbsp of water over the eggs and put the lid on. Give the container a good few shakes.  The water acts as a buffer as the eggs bump into each other and loosen the shells.  Then one at a time, tap the wide part of the egg on the counter and start peeling.  You will find that the shell starts to peel away quite easily. Repeat till you have all your eggs done. 

To store the eggs in the fridge until use, or overnight, place them in a container with a lid and cover with cold water.  Now they are ready to go into the fridge.  The next day they will be fresh, hard boiled eggs!