Salade Martin

A Martin family classic: Surprisingly addictive and delicious rice salad with ham, cheese, tomatoes, corn, green onions and olives. 

You guys - I need you to keep an open mind here. This sounds like kind of a weird dish, but I'm not kidding you, it is so yummy that you really need to stay with me.

You're really going to laugh/be confused when I tell you what we call it...among the Martin family, this is called salade niçoise. But the funny thing about it is that it is literally NOTHING like any salade niçoise I've ever seen. In general, most recipes for salade niçoise call for tuna, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives, anchovies, and occasionally other veggies like potatoes and green beans (depending on where you look). This one is quite different, the only ingredients that this version has in common with the classic recipe are tomatoes and olives. Other than that, it's pretty different (ahem...deliciously different).

I was asking Pete about where the recipe came from, and he couldn't really remember the story behind it so we called his mom, Suzie, for backup. It turns out it was a family recipe from Lolo, a French au pair who lived with Pete's family for a year when he was a baby...so cool! (I almost couldn't believe he didn't remember someone living with them for A YEAR but Pete was only about a year old at the time, so I guess it makes sense that he doesn't remember.) Lolo apparently loooved garlic, Suzie said she used 9 cloves in the vinaigrette! I have a feeling we would have been buds. In addition to a slight increase in the amount of garlic, Lolo's recipe originally had tuna, but the boys vetoed that so it became ham, and somewhere along the line the radishes stopped making an appearance.

One of the hardest things about this post was actually figuring out what to call it, since I felt like I couldn't really call it salade niçoise. But here's the thing, I don't care what you call it or what it was originally supposed to be, because they way it is now is so good. It's a Martin family classic and Pete's #1 favorite meal, and once you try it I swear you'll understand why. The cheese softens just a little bit from the warm rice, the ham gives it a salty meatiness, you get bursts of freshness from the corn and tomatoes, and the green onions add a mild oniony bite. (Notice - I did not describe the taste the olives add because sorry - I don't like olives, but I put them in anyways because Pete loves them and I just eat around them. Aren't I nice? I know.)

Enough chatting - let's make it!

Ingredient round up:

This is easy-peasy, just requires some chopping. And you can chop away while you're cooking the rice!

Cook the rice according to the package instructions. I use basmati rice because I like the taste and because as far as rice goes, it's a slightly healthier choice than regular white rice - but you could use white rice if that's what you have or what you like.

Transfer the cooked rice to a very large bowl and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes, stirring lightly once or twice while it cools. It's important to let it cool a little, otherwise the hot rice will totally melt the cheese which isn't really what we're going for.

Add the ham, cheese, tomatoes, corn, green onions and olives. (Or leave the olives out, I wont tell.)

Note: There is a MOUNTAIN of rice underneath all of those tasty ingredients.

Drizzle over the garlicky red wine vinaigrette, and stir to combine!

That's it! Easy and delicious.

This "salade niçoise" has been served at many a Martin family gathering and it's always a hit. Try it and you'll soon be addicted too. Yummy noises await you!

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Salade Martin

A Martin family classic: Surprisingly addictive and delicious rice salad with ham, cheese, tomatoes, corn, green onions and olives.

Makes about 14 cups

Author YummyNoises.com

Ingredients

• 3 cups uncooked basmati rice
• 10 oz deli ham , cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 8 oz gouda cheese , cut into small bite-sized cubes
• 1 ½ pints grape tomatoes , quartered
• 1 15.25 oz can golden sweet corn , drained
• 1 bunch green onions , thinly sliced
• 1 2.25 oz can sliced black olives , drained
• 1 recipe garlicky red wine vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Garlicky Red Wine Vinaigrette

• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 3 cloves garlic , pressed or finely minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

• Cook the rice according to the package instructions. Transfer the cooked rice to a very large bowl and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes, stirring lightly once or twice while it cools.
• Add the ham, cheese, tomatoes, corn, green onions and olives. Drizzle over the garlicky red wine vinaigrette, and stir to combine. Enjoy!

Notes

Per serving (about 1 cup): 358 calories, 19g total fat, 6g saturated fat, 492mg sodium, 36g total carbs, 1g fiber, 4g sugar, 12g protein

Adapted from Lolo and the Martin Family