As one might expect, salade Niçoise means a salad in the style of Nice, in the south of France, made with ingredients found there. And the version ($7.50) at The French House (5901-Y Westheimer, 713-781-2106) has all the right stuff — green leaf lettuce, white tuna, sliced potatoes, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, green peppers, a hard-boiled egg and crisp green beans, all neatly distributed around a large platter in an olive oil vinaigrette. Like lots of recipes, this one has many versions. Some arrange the ingredients around the plate, while others toss them all together. Some add green beans and potatoes, others don’t. Some serve the salad on a bed of lettuce, others on a bed of tomatoes. Some serve it only with olive oil, others with a vinaigrette. But whichever way it’s served, this salad is a classic.
This article appears in Jan 11-17, 2007.