Nicoise-style Salad with Warm Goat Cheese

This salad is not only so beautiful but just as delicious to eat! Make this for your family or company,  an easy addition to any meal. I like the light vinaigrette that I make with this salad which is as a fresh as this crisp salad. Serve this salad as a beautiful centerpiece for a buffet or as a light meal with fresh bread and a French Rose.

Enjoy!

Nicoise-style Salad with Warm Goat Cheese

• 6 multi-colored fingerling potatoes
• 2 Tablespoon plus 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 pound haricots verts (French green beans)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar mustard
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 2 plum tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 head Belgian endive, separated into leaves
• 1 head radicchio, thinly sliced
• 2 English cucumbers, diagonally sliced (about 4 oz.)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 4 ounce log goat cheese

Preparation

1. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan. Add 1/4 cup salt and water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high; reduce heat to low, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until just tender, adding haricots verts during the last 2 minutes of cook time. Drain vegetables, and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process.
2. Stir together lemon juice, shallot, garlic, and mustard in a medium bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in olive oil and parsley. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
3. Drain potatoes and haricots verts, and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange cooked vegetables, tomatoes, endive leaves, radicchio, cucumbers, and eggs on serving plate. Wrap goat cheese in aluminum foil and warm in a 325 oven for 10 minutes. Remove form aluminum and place on salad.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve with vinaigrette.