Niçoise Toast with Fresh Herbs

Hello and welcome! We are heading into the weekend with this very delicious, very simple recipe for Niçoise Toast. I love Niçoise Salad and this recipe puts a tiny salad on a thick slice of fried bread. Move over Avocado Toast, I think I have found my new favorite toast! This recipe is super simple to toss together and it does so with pantry staples. I will say that you will want to go with oil-packed tuna for this though, which is something I have mentioned before, like with the Mediterranean Tuna Salad we made recently. Olive oil-packed tuna is rich, flavorful and moist. But with the flavors packed into this toast, tuna is only part of the story, let’s get to the recipe!

Perfectly Boiled Eggs

I am making two toasts, so I think a single egg will be enough for two, but since I am boiling eggs, I might as well make an extra one, just in case. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Once boiling, use a spider or a skimmer to lower the eggs in the boiling water. Set a timer for 8 minutes. When the 8 minutes is up, transfer the eggs to an ice bath. They can sit in the ice bath until we are ready to use them. Eight minutes will yield a slightly runny yolk, so if you want a more well-done yolk, let them boil for 10 minutes.

Dress Your Tomatoes

Since we are awaiting summer tomatoes, I am using grape tomatoes in this recipe, which are sweet and juicy. Slice them in half lengthwise and thinly slice a shallot. Toss these together in a small bowl with lemon juice, sugar and Kosher salt. Set aside and let’s move on to the mayonnaise spread.

In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, fresh garlic, vinegar and paprika. Recently, I decided to jump on the pre-peeled garlic train. I really don’t enjoy peeling fresh garlic, so I purchased a small bag of pre-peeled garlic at the grocery store. Just keep it in the freezer and it’s so easy to pull out a few cloves and let them defrost on the counter for a few minutes. If I am grating the garlic, like for this mayonnaise spread, I just grate the partially frozen cloves on my zester.

Fried Bread is the New Toast

Toasters are easier, of course. But this toast is special and toasting the thick slices of country bread in olive oil will give you a deeply toasted bread; soaking up some of the olive oil and creating a crunchy exterior to hold up the toppings perfectly. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmery, add two slices of bread. We will very lightly toast one side and then flip. The second side, we will let go a little longer, to get some good browning.

Just keep peeking at the bread in the skillet and pull it out when it’s toasted to your liking. So we have our dressed tomatoes and shallots and our souped-up mayo spread. We also have oil-cured black olives, you can use whatever olives you like best – or you can use capers. I have fresh tarragon and some parsley flowers, use your favorite fresh herbs – basil, parsley, dill, any of these would be great!

Build Niçoise Toasts!

We will build our Niçoise Toasts on the more well-toasted side of the bread. The lightly toasted side will be on the bottom. These few, simple ingredients are going to come together and the whole toast is really going to sing!

Spread the mayo on, use as much as you like. The tuna is next, one 5-ounce can of tuna is perfect for two toasts. Then, spoon on the tomato and shallot mixture; spoon on a little of the lemon dressing too. Break apart the eggs and place the pieces evenly over the tomatoes, shallots and tuna. Then, nestle the olives in between the eggs, tomatoes and tuna. Sprinkle the herbs and some flaky sea salt. A few cranks of fresh cracked black pepper – and that’s it!

These are definitely fork and knife toasts! So colorful and full of fresh flavors. The oil-packed tuna is rich and moist; the eggs add a rich and creamy texture; the tomatoes add a juicy pop; their lemony dressing brightens up the toasts and the shallots give it just enough bite. We ate one of these toasts right away, but the other one sat out on the counter and we nibbled on it all afternoon, and even after a few hours, the toast was still crunchy on the outside and held up beautifully.

Thank you so much for joining me today, I hope you make this Niçoise Toast! Perfect as a light lunch or dinner on a spring or summer day. Pretty effortless, with a great reward. Remember, you can find me on Pinterest, where you can pin recipes and share them with your friends and family. Take care everyone, be well. xo Kelly

A Few Kitchen Items Used in This Recipe

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Niçoise Toast

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Dinner, Lunch, Snack – American/French

By Adapted from Molly Baz's recipe, via Bon Appétit – Serves: Makes 2 Toasts

Prep Time: 10 Minutes – Cooking Time: 10 Minutes – Total Time: 20 Minutes

These are definitely fork and knife toasts! So colorful and full of fresh flavors. The oil-packed tuna is rich and moist; the eggs add a rich and creamy texture; the tomatoes add a juicy pop; their lemony dressing brightens up the toasts and the shallots give it just enough bite.

Ingredients

• 2 Large Eggs
• Juice from 1/2 Lemon
• 5-8 Grape Tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 small Shallot, thinly sliced
• A pinch of sugar
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 small Garlic Clove, finely grated
• 1 tsp. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 2 tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Slices Sourdough bread, sliced thick
• 1 5-oz. can Oil-Packed Tuna, drained
• Flaky sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup torn mixed tender herbs (such as dill, parsley, basil, and/or tarragon)
• 2 tbsp. Oil-Cured Black Olives, pitted, flesh torn

Instructions

1

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Gently lower eggs into pot with a slotted spoon and cook 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water and let cool. Peel eggs; set aside.

2

Toss lemon juice, tomatoes, shallot, sugar, and a pinch of kosher salt in a small bowl.

3

Whisk mayonnaise, garlic, vinegar, and paprika in a small bowl; season with kosher salt.

4

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium until shimmering. Add 2 slices of bread and cook, adjusting heat as needed, lightly toast one side then flip and toast the other side until bottoms are deeply browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a platter.

5

Spread mayonnaise mixture over the more toasted side of bread.

6

Top with tuna, then tomato mixture; spoon some of the dressing over the toast.

7

Tear each egg into 3 or 4 pieces and arrange on top.

8

Season with flaky sea salt and pepper. Scatter herbs and olives over.

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