In our recap of our trip to Los Angeles for the CrossFit games, we briefly mentioned our lunch date with Mark Sisson. We drove up the Pacific Coast Highway on Thursday, and met Mark for lunch in Malibu. He took us to one of his favorite restaurants, Geoffrey’s. It was lovely. Geoffrey’s is an ocean front restaurant, so we were really able to enjoy the beauty of Malibu while we talked and ate.

For lunch we all ordered salads. Mark choose one of his favorites, the Lobster Cobb. Bill and I both decided to order the Grilled Ahi Niçoise Salad, which sounded amazing. A classic Niçoise salad is served with boiled potatoes, so for my order I asked for the salad without potatoes, Bill ordered his with. Potatoes really don’t bother me that much, but I choose to avoid them most of the time.

As we waited for our salads, the server brought out our drinks and the bread (of course)… poor guy. Before he even got the bread plate on the table, all three of us said, “No bread, no bread.” When the salads arrived, I did all that I could to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. They all were absolutely beautiful, and we were starving. The tuna was seared perfectly, showing the ruby red center, placed on top of a bed of spring greens, green beans, hard boiled egg, tomato, and Niçoise olives. The mustard vinaigrette was light and tangy, and really complimented the salad without masking any of the other flavors.

After the first bite of my salad, I knew this was a recipe I wanted to recreate. We made this salad to the best of our memory of the lunch we had in Malibu, even adding the boiled potatoes. Again, Bill had the potatoes, I decided not to. This salad took some time to prepare, but was not difficult. We really enjoyed recreating this beautiful dish, and I’m sure it wont be long before we enjoy it again.

Grilled Ahi Niçoise Salad

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Serves: 2

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 4 4 4 Potatoes, White, small, red, boiled and quartered
• 1 cup 1 cup 1 cup Green Beans, French-Style, steamed
• 2 2 2 Egg, hard boiled
• 8 oz 8 oz 8 oz Ahi Tuna Steak, grilled
• 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 2 2 Tomato, quartered
• 14 14 14 Kalamata Olives
• 2 tsp 2 tsp 2 tsp Capers
• 4 cup 4 cup 4 cup Lettuce, Spring Mix Salad Greens
• 1/4 cup 1/4 cup 1/4 cup Olive Oil, Extra Virgin
• 1/4 cup 1/4 cup 1/4 cup Vinegar, White Balsamic
• 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp Mustard, Spicy Brown

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

1. Place red potatoes in a medium sized soup pot, and boil until fork tender.
2. While potatoes are boiling, steam green beans until fork tender as well.
3. Place two eggs in a small sauce pan, and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, and boil eggs for 10 minutes. Immediately immerse in an ice bath, peel, and allow to cool completely, and then cut into quarters.
4. While eggs, green beens, and potatoes are all cooling, preheat grill to high heat.
5. Sprinkle tuna steak on both sides with salt and pepper.
6. Grill tuna steak 2-2 1/2 minutes per side. Remove from grill and slice.
7. Place salad greens in a large bowl, 2 cups per bowl.
8. Add egg, tomato, potatoes, and green beans to the salad greens.
9. Top with olives (7 per salad), and capers (1 tsp per salad).
10. Carefully place the sliced tuna on top of the salad.
11. In a small mixing bow, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt.
12. Drizzle dressing over salad, and serve.