Gennaro’s Salad

400g/14oz new, or small waxy paotaoes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 large eggs
2 heaped tbsp salted capers
2 lemons
1x 220g tin of really good tuna in oil, drained, or 300g/11oz fresh tuna
For fresh tuna: a good pinch of oregano, and half a red chilli, chopped
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
A large handful of rocket
A large handful of mixed salad leaves, torn
1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
4 salted anchovies, rinsed boned and filleted

Give the potatoes a little scrub, bring a pan of water to a boil and add the potatoes to it, then season the water with salt. Put the lid on and boil fast, till the potatoes are tender, and you can put a knife through them. At the same time, boil your eggs for 7-8 min so that they are firm, but soft boiled. Refresh them in cold water, shell them and put to the side.
While the potatoes and eggs are cooking, wash the capers under the tap, then drain them and put them in a bowl with the juice of one of the lemons, to draw out any excess salt.
If you are using fresh tuna, cook it in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil, oregano, and some chilli, salt, and pepper. Either sear it so it remains pink in the center, or fry for a few minutes on each side till cooked through, but do not overcook.
Wash the salad leaves and spin them dry.
By now the potatoes will be done, so dress them while they are still really hot. Drain them really well in a colander, then halve or chop them inot a bowl. Add the capers and lemon juice, 5 tbsp of the oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, and the finely sliced onion, and toss together really well. Taste a potato to make sure the seasoning is just right – you may want a little more oil or lemon juice. When they get down to room temperature, flake in the tune, add the salad leaves and the halved or quartered eggs, drizzle a little oil over, mix carefully, divide onto four plates, and lay over the anchovies.

Ok, this is a lot of text, so you might think that this salad is a lot of work, but actually it’s super easy… Boil some potatoes and eggs, add dressing and some stuff and toss together.

This one is from Jamie Oliver, who never lets me down.

It was a really great salad. It has the potatoes, the eggs and the tuna which makes it really substantial and good for dinner, and the flavors are some of my favorites. It’s got the caper and lemon dressing (how good an idea is that?), and some anchovies thrown in too. Also, I loved the consistency of the soft/hard boiled eggs.

I thought this was a great summer meal!