Layered Niçoise salad | La Presse

For this recipe, Nico Fonseca and Patrice Fortier used beefsteak tomatoes, a meaty variety that isn’t as hollow as beefsteak tomatoes. “You need big, fleshy tomatoes!” confirms Patrice. Both the culinary artist and the seed producer cook a lot by instinct. Feel free to add your own touch to this recipe with herbs you like, olives, more anchovies, etc.

Ingredients

• 4 or 5 medium-sized yellow or green zucchinis
• 5 or 6 large tomatoes of a meaty variety like beefsteak
• 3 or 4 fillets of turbot, sole or other white fish
• 1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• A little fine lemon zest (with a microplane)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 good clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp chopped marjoram
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 to 8 anchovy fillets

Preparation

• 1. Slice the zucchini lengthwise and dehydrate for four hours in a dehydrator or in the oven at about 160℉ (66 ^oC) to give them a meaty texture. Then, dry roast them at 425℉ (220 ^oC) 6 to 7 minutes, until golden brown. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.
• 2. To make the corn cream, heat the kernels in a small saucepan with the butter and milk. Once they are cooked (5 to 6 minutes), puree them in a food processor or blender, then sieve to obtain a very smooth cream. Nico sieved twice.
• 3. The fish is poached in court-bouillon (water, white wine, salt and pepper, optional bouquet garni) for 2 to 3 minutes.
• 4. Prepare a vinaigrette with the vinegar, lemon juice and zest, oil, garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper. Adjust the acidity and salt to taste. This preparation will be used to season each layer of the niçoise, so don’t hesitate to add plenty of salt.
• 5. Make tomato slices about 0.5 cm thick.

• 6. Assemble the niçoise in a 12-inch round cake pan, starting with half the zucchini, followed by half the tomatoes, fish, zucchini again, corn cream and a final layer of tomatoes. Brush each layer with vinaigrette (except the corn), press well to hold it together and finish with the anchovies. You can also add a few marjoram leaves.
• 7. Make sure you have a sharp knife when serving to cut nice points.