Few subjects inflame the ire of culinary pedants more than salade Niçoise. They’re not wrestling over historic points like where the dish originated (as the name suggests, it was in the French coastal city of Nice) or aesthetic considerations, such as the most attractive way to plate the salad (thoughtful composition or playful jumble?). No, the most spirited debate focuses on what actually belongs in this iconic dish.
Salade Niçoise first showed up in the 19th century as a simple trio of tomatoes, anchovies, and olive oil. Renowned chef Auguste Escoffier, who was born near Nice, bulked it up with boiled potatoes and green beans. In 1972, Nice mayor and cookbook author Jacques Médecin decreed that the salad must be comprised mostly of tomatoes that had been salted three times and slicked with olive oil; hard-cooked eggs and canned tuna
