Eight years ago, I bought the Spring/Summer edition of Fine Cooking Fresh. The issue's vegetable-based meals became some of my favorites, and I've been making a version of their Grilled Salade Nicoise ever since.

The original recipe is absolutely fantastic. It includes grilling the traditional Nicoise potatoes, green beans and tomatoes and topping the whole thing with a big hunk of seared tuna and an anchovy-heavy dressing. But we've always found this recipe to be incredibly adaptable - sometimes subbing in salmon or even shrimp for the tuna, and using whatever vegetables, olives and lettuce we had on hand. We also don't often have a place to grill, so in those times or the winter, we'd find ourselves roasting or pan searing the vegetables.

As time's gone by, I've also stopped eating fish, but this salad even adapted well to that omission. If you like fish, by all means, sear or grill a piece of your favorite and top this salad with it. But the potatoes and eggs make the whole thing so hearty I don't miss it at all. We've also started making a vegetarian dressing, and I've included both the original and the anchovy-free versions here.

Salad

Adapted from Fine Cooking Fresh, Spring/Summer 2006, page 51

Serves 4

• 8-10 small potatoes (white, red, purple, a mix - doesn't matter) halved or quartered
• 1 large onion, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 2 plum tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 pound green beans or snow or sugar snap peas, trimmed as necessary
• 6 ounces lettuce (bibb is delicious, but so is romaine and mesclun)
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and halved
• 1/4 cup Nicoise, Kalamata or other good quality olives
• Optional 1 1/2 pounds fresh tuna or other fish
• Optional 4 anchovy fillets

1. Make your dressing. Recipes follow.

2. Roast or grill your veggies. I use an oven set to 425 F, tossing the potatoes and onions in a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper before spreading on a cookie sheet. After about 15 minutes, take out, toss and add your peas or beans. Ten to 12 minutes later, add your tomatoes and turn the beans. At about 30-35 minutes, everything should be fork tender and browned on both sides. Go according to color and texture, not time though - sometimes it only takes me 25 minutes to have everything ready.

Alternatively, start your charcoal or gas grill and add oil, salt & pepper tossed potatoes (in foil or a vegetable basket) on medium low heat and grill, again until fork tender and roasted looking, 30-35 minutes. On a part of the grill with medium-high heat, cook onions, tomatoes and beans until lightly charred and tender, moving as needed. Onions will take 10-15 minutes, tomatoes 5-8 and green beans 4-6 minutes.

*Sometimes, we pan sear the green beans, sprinkling them with salt and lemon pepper before searing on med-high heat for several minutes. Sometimes too, we skip cooking the tomatoes, if they're delightfully fresh in summer time.

3. Roast or grill your fish. If using tuna, grill or pan-sear your fish over medium-high heat until slightly pink in the middle, about 6 minutes per side.

*We almost always pan-seared the tuna, and kept it pretty pink in the middle because that's how we liked it, but it's risky to eat undercooked fish. If using salmon or shrimp, we cooked until completely cooked.

4. Cook your eggs. Meanwhile, hard-cook your eggs. (I put my eggs in a pot of cold water, bring the water to a boil, then turn off and let sit for 12 minutes).

5. Prep your salad. Line your plates with lettuce. Then arrange your veggies, eggs, capers, and olive on top. Drizzle with your dressing.

*Sometimes, we toss all the warm veggies with the dressing, and then top the lettuce with that.

Dressing 1: The Original

• 1 tablespoon minced anchovies (about 4) rinsed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

In a food processor, pulse anchovies, garlic, mustard and lemon juice. With the machine running, add in the olive oil in a slow stream. Season with salt and pepper.

Dressing 2: The Veg Version

From Dr. Weil's Vegetarian Caesar

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup grated packed vegetarian Asiago or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients except olive oil by pulsing in a food processor. Once combined, stream olive oil slowly into running processor. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!