Tuna Niçoise with Soft-Boiled Eggs and New Potatoes

Ingredients

• 600g new potatoes, halved
• 200g fine green beans, trimmed
• 4 tuna steaks, about 180g each
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 4 large eggs
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 80g Kalamata olives, pitted
• 2 little gem lettuces, leaves separated
• fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly torn, to serve
• 2 tbsp capers, drained, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• crusty baguette, to serve
• mixed leaf salad, to serve

Method

1. Put the new potatoes in a large saucepan of cold, generously salted water — it should taste properly seasoned, since this is your only chance to season the potatoes from the inside. Bring to the boil and cook for 18–20 minutes until a knife slides in with no resistance.
2. While the potatoes cook, build the dressing. Chop the anchovy fillets to a rough paste, then whisk with the Dijon mustard, grated garlic, extra virgin olive oil, the lemon juice and the red wine vinegar. The garlic stays raw here, so grate it fine — any bigger and it bullies everything else. Taste, season with salt and pepper, taste again.
3. Lower the eggs into a small pan of properly boiling water and set a timer for exactly 6 minutes — that's set whites and a jammy, just-flowing yolk. Lift straight into a bowl of iced water to stop the cook, then peel and halve once cool enough to handle.
4. Add the green beans to the potato pan for the final 3 minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain together, tip into a bowl, and toss with 2 tablespoons of the anchovy dressing while still steaming — warm potatoes drink the dressing in, cold ones shrug it off.
5. Pat the tuna steaks bone dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no crust. Rub all over with the olive oil and season hard on both sides with salt and pepper.
6. Heat a stainless steel or cast iron pan over a high heat until it's smoking lightly — non-stick won't get you the deep, mahogany crust tuna needs. Lay the steaks in away from you, leaving room between them; crowd the pan and you'll steam the fish instead of searing it. Sear 1–2 minutes per side until deeply golden outside and still rosy pink in the middle, then lift onto a board to rest for 2 minutes.
7. Arrange the little gem leaves across a large platter. Scatter the dressed potatoes and beans over, then the halved cherry tomatoes and the Kalamata olives.
8. Slice the tuna across the grain and lay it over the salad alongside the halved jammy eggs. Spoon the rest of the anchovy dressing generously over everything, then taste a leaf — adjust salt now, at the platter, not at the table.
9. Finish with torn flat-leaf parsley, a scatter of capers, a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon over the lot. Bring the platter to the table with lemon wedges, crusty baguette to mop the dressing, and a bowl of mixed leaves alongside.