Of course, the Niçoise salad is a classic French preparation made popular, dates back to the 1880’s from the Montpelier Region, and now famously named and a specialty of the Cote D’Azur regions city of Nice. This version of the recipe modified as it comes from the Curves Fitness & Weight Management Plan book and found on page 63. This version omits the eggs and anchovies, but there seems to be a debate by purists who argue about the use of lettuce and potatoes in the original preparation.

The recipe written in a short paragraph, and is intended for individual portions. The Curves recipe also calls for 3 cups of Romaine lettuce per serving, which seems like a lot of lettuce, so we actually made ours with about half of that amount, but if you really like lettuce then go for it. For the potatoes, we used baby new red potatoes boiled with a little Cajun Spice mix and some garlic salt until al dente, and then allowed them to cool. The steamed fresh green beans cooked to al dente, and then chilled them as well. Picked fresh parsley from our front herb garden along with some of our ripe tomatoes from the vine, and then finished with the fresh cracked pepper and a touch of sea salt.

The Curves Recipe: Arrange 6 oz tuna (packed in water), ½ cup fresh steamed green beans, and 1 medium (6 oz) cooked potato cut into chunks, 8 large olives, ½ medium tomato sliced and thin slices of onion to taste atop 3 cups Romaine lettuce. Garnish with 1 tablespoon capers and ¼ cup minced parsley, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Following in my basil series is this recipe that we have made a handful of times in the past few months. It is found on many a restaurant menu as either an appetizer in a neatly arranged presentation or as a similar salad. This perennial favorite takes on an easy and quick preparation as a marinated salad with fresh grown heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil both harvested from our front garden. With the addition of some sliced mozzarella string cheese, this salad is marinated with just enough balsamic vinaigrette dressing to coat the tomatoes, basil and cheese.

Ingredient quantities vary depending on the number of ripe tomatoes ready from the garden, but this particular batch was made with 4 of our heirloom tomatoes, a large handful of fresh basil which was cut into a chiffonade and about 4 ounces of the string cheese sliced into rounds. All this was tossed with about ¾ cup of balsamic vinaigrette dressing with some salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

A chiffonade is a culinary procedure for preparing leafy greens such as spinach, mint or in this case with basil where it is cut into long and thin strips. The leaves are stacked together and then rolled tightly into a cigar or tube shape, then thinly cut across the top with a sharp knife and resulting in the long thin ribbons. The word “chiffon” is French for “rag” which refers to fabric-like strips that result from this cutting method.

This is an adaptation of an appetizer that was very popular at the Columns Hotel during the time of Chef Chris Canan and Chef Brian Coats under the Michael’s Management tenure in the 1984 to 1986 period. The appetizer menu item was listed as Shrimp and Pesto Alfredo – Shrimp, Basil, Garlic, Cream and Fettucine $4.25. (PDF – Click link to view Columns Hotel menu) The pesto was prepared in advance but was made just about every 2 to 4 days, and the shrimp and pesto pasta dish was prepared to order on the lunch and dinner menu at the sauté station.

At the restaurant as orders came into the kitchen a small 6-inch sauté pan was put on the fire with a small amount of clarified butter and heated up then 4 to 6 ounces of small peeled and deveined (P&D) shrimp were added with a touch of salt and white pepper mixture. The shrimp were sautéed just a minute or so then a tablespoon of pesto and about a cup of heavy cream were added along with about a quarter cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese. This was all stirred up well and allowed to simmer until the cream thickened up a bit. Then the pre-cooked fettuccini was tossed in and heated through, once plated more fresh grated parmesan cheese was sprinkled on top and the dish was garnished with fresh basil. This dish sold like hot cakes and many would order a double portion as an entrée.

Following in the basil and pesto series and utilizing some of the fresh basil from our front yard herb garden, this recipe makes enough for 6 to 8 servings and I’ve also added some extra flavoring ingredients with the addition of a touch of chicken base and some Worcestershire sauce. In this recipe the fettuccini has been replaced with Rotini and the shrimp are a 21-30 count size, however, any of your favorite pasta and any size shrimp work well for this dish, just ensure to adjust the cooking times for your particular pasta and sized shrimp.

    I first learned about pesto preparations during my apprenticeship at the Column’s Hotel in the 1984 to 1986 tenure. The menu included an appetizer of shrimp and pasta pesto Alfredo which was a very popular dish, it also made it to the lunch buffet on occasion. The heavy cream reduction sauce infused with fresh grated parmesan cheese and this fresh basil pesto was made to order. The basil pesto was prepared in advance in batches which typically would hold up for 2 to 3 days, it was made at least twice a week due to demand and popularity of the shrimp dish. Pesto was on the pantry prep list as one of the staple prep items and was done so often that I made the batches without recipe after the first couple of weeks. We also applied the pesto to other menu specials and buffet dishes on occasion, such as a pesto encrusted broiled salmon.   

    The Columns Hotel obtained all of their fresh herbs from Crickhollow Farms out of Mississippi and the weekly delivery also included farm raised rabbits, edible flowers and some organic baby vegetables and wild mushrooms as well.

    This recipe is a slight modification from the one we prepared at the Columns Hotel, I’ve added the step of toasting the garlic and pine nuts before pulsing them in the food processor, this adds a deeper flavor profile to the pesto that brings out the nutty flavor of the garlic and nuts.  If basil is not your preferred flavor you can substitute any leafy green herb or even greens such as arugula.