Niçoise Salad with Tuna Steak
Most salads arrive as a side dish. A Niçoise shows up as the entire plate.
Seared tuna steak with a pink center, a seven-minute egg in quarters, blanched green beans, tomato wedges, red onion rings, and a mustard vinaigrette made from the same olive oil that seared the fish — all arranged on mixed greens with whole wheat bread on the side.
47 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber. Ten ingredients. Fifteen minutes.
Most salads arrive as a side dish. A Niçoise shows up as the entire plate.
Seared tuna steak with a pink center, a seven-minute egg in quarters, blanched green beans, tomato wedges, red onion rings, and a mustard vinaigrette made from the same olive oil that seared the fish — all arranged on mixed greens with whole wheat bread on the side.
47 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber. Ten ingredients. Fifteen minutes.
Ingredients
- tuna steak 1 piece
- green beans (frozen) 220 g
- egg 1 piece
- olive oil 2 tablespoons
- tomato 1 piece
- red onion 0.25 piece
- yellow mustard 0.5 teaspoon
- vinegar 0.5 tablespoon
- mixed salad 1 handful
- bread, whole wheat 2 slices
Method
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Allow the tuna steak to thaw.
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Boil the green beans and the egg together in a saucepan with water for about 7 minutes. Then rinse both with cold water.
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Heat half of the oil in a pan and sear the tuna steak on high heat for approximately 1½ minutes on each side.
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Meanwhile, cut the tomato into wedges and the onion into thin rings.
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In a small bowl, make a dressing using the other half of the oil, mustard and vinegar.
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Cut the egg into quarters and the tuna into slices.
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Place the lettuce on a plate and top it with the green beans, tuna, egg, tomato and red onion.
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Serve the salad with the dressing. Season with pepper and salt to taste as desired.
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Serve with the (toasted) bread.
Pat the tuna steak completely dry before it hits the pan. Surface moisture drops the temperature instantly — the steak steams instead of sears, and the pink center that makes a Niçoise distinct from a canned tuna salad disappears into grey. High heat only works when the surface is dry.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Is 47 grams of protein too much for one meal?
The idea that the body can only use 20–30 grams of protein per meal is outdated. Research has found that the body absorbs and uses the full amount — it just takes longer to process larger doses. 47 grams in one sitting is fully utilized for muscle protein synthesis, whether it comes from a post-workout meal or a lunch salad.
Read the full evidence reviewWhy sear the tuna instead of cooking it through?
A brief sear at high heat — roughly 1½ minutes per side — gives you a crusted exterior with a pink center. Besides taste and texture, brief high-heat cooking preserves more of the omega-3 fatty acid profile than extended cooking. A whole tuna steak delivers EPA, DHA, selenium, and vitamin D in the natural matrix that fish oil supplements cannot replicate.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I use canned tuna instead of a tuna steak?
You can, but it changes the dish. Canned tuna is fully cooked, flaked, and packed in oil or water — it gives you protein but not the seared crust and pink center that make a Niçoise distinct from a regular tuna salad. If you swap, drain the can well and skip Step 3 entirely.
