A matter of circumstance

and a recipe for a Niçoise salad, with or without tomatoes

The same boiling water that hardens an egg softens a potato.

—Anonymous

Consider the egg. A wee delicate thing, to be handled with care. A clumsy drop, and the egg gives up its treasure in a puddled mess, impossible to put back together again. Now, observe the sturdy potato. Only the sharpest of knives or the deftest of peelers can break through its rough exterior. Even the smallest fingerling dares you to try and break it in two with your bare hands.

Yet, put a quivering egg into boiling water, and through an alchemy quite magical, within minutes, the egg hardens into a perfect sphere. Cut through the now-firm white layer and the sunny yolk has put on a different garb, transforming itself into a lovely golden ball.

The potato, on the other hand, gets into hot water rather quickly in that boiling pot. The longer it’s submerged, the more its bravura evaporates, until it becomes soft and submissive. Now is the time to whip it into shape in the form of mashed potatoes, deftly slice it to make a scalloped gratin, potato pancakes or best of all, ethereal gnocchi.

Might we take a lesson or two from our kitchen workhorse friends?

It’s what you’re made of

If we think about the egg and the potato, their transformation is a matter of horticulture and chemistry. The properties of both the egg and the potato are immutable. No matter what the heat source or vessel, both the egg and the potato react the same way to the boiling water. It’s what they’re made of.

You might say the boiling water is the circumstance that the egg and the potato find themselves in. Try as they might to resist, their nature dictates the outcome. We humans, on the other hand, are completely malleable. When we find ourselves in hot water, we can choose to toughen up or we can become mush balls, allowing the circumstances to overwhelm us. In those moments, what we’re made of comes to fore in different ways.

Grace under pressure

I was at a party last weekend and was chatting with some friends about the egg and potato analogy. The reactions I got were quite interesting. Some were immediately Team Egg: in trying situations, we need to be hardened to protect ourselves. Others were fans of Team Potato. They argued that vulnerability, softness, a lowering of our defences, may well be the best way to face a difficult moment.

Here’s the thing. We have a distinct advantage over those inanimate objects. Our reactions can be nuanced, thoughtful, chosen with care, on a sliding scale. We can be tough and hardened if we need to be, or just a little resilient with a soft core of compassion. Having grace under pressure needn’t mean that we can’t be quivering inside.

It’s the beautiful, complicated and wonder of being human. We can draw on our well of experiences and react in a way that suits the situation best. We won’t always get it right. But like the cook in the kitchen, we can observe the outcomes, and modify as we go the next time the water comes to a boil.

Simple Niçoise salad

Serves 4-6

If you think of a Niçoise salad as a uniquely summer dish, think again. This is the ultimate salade composée - composed salad. Tomatoes not in season? Skip them. Need to make it vegetarian? Sub in chickpeas instead of tuna. A Niçoise salad accommodates whatever you have on hand. Easygoing and undemanding, it’s a kitchen chameleon that doubles as a lovely brunch dish or a more substantial dinner entree.

I can think of no better dish to show off the tough guy egg and the softened potato. While ingredients vary according to the cook’s whim and pantry, these two are mainstays of a classic Niçoise. The ingredient list below can flex according to the number of people you are serving, but be sure to double the vinaigrette to have on hand for a week’s worth of delicious salads.

Ingredients

For the salad

1 pound fingerling potatoes, scrubbed, boiled until tender, cooled and cut in half

6-8 eggs, hard boiled and peeled

¾ pound green beans or haricots vert (the slimmer, sexier French cousin to green beans), trimmed and steamed until just tender

1 head Boston lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried

2 large cans tuna in olive oil, drained and put in a bowl

1 cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives

Cherry or plum tomatoes, sliced (optional according to season)

To compose the salad, choose your prettiest wide platter and line it with the Boston lettuce leaves. Arrange the potatoes, green beans, eggs and tomatoes (if using) on top. Scatter with the olives. Drizzle a generous amount of vinaigrette over the salad. Serve with the tuna on the side so that everyone can help themselves as desired.

For the vinaigrette

Makes about ½ cup - easily doubled

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

One tablespoon Dijon mustard

Generous pinch of fine sea salt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together the shallots, vinegar, and the salt; let stand for 15 minutes. Whisk in the mustard, then add the oil in a very slow, thin, steady stream, whisking constantly until the dressing is emulsified. Season with freshly ground black pepper, taste and adjust for salt if needed.