Niçoise Salad with Grilled Tuna & Quail Eggs

Rediscovering Australian Wine: Why a Rosé from the Clare Valley Is Reinventing the Côte d’Azur Classic

Wine from Australia and a Salade Niçoise—it sounds like a culinary clash of cultures, but it’s actually one of the most harmonious wine pairings of the summer. The Niçoise is a dish full of contrasts: the grilled tuna brings toasty aromas and depth, the quail eggs a creamy richness, the capers and olives intense saltiness, and the green beans and tomatoes a fresh lightness. This dish doesn’t need a heavy wine—but it doesn’t need just any wine either. It needs a rosé with real character. The Claymore “Birdhouse in Your Soul” Rosé 2024 from the Clare Valley is exactly that: a bone-dry, exceptionally refined rosé made from Shiraz and Malbec that brings out the best in this Provençal classic with notes of white peaches, pink grapefruit, and the herbaceous spice of lemon thyme—while remaining unmistakably Australian.

Ideal wine pairing: Claymore ‘Birdhouse in Your Soul’ Rosé (Clare Valley, Australia)

In the glass, the Birdhouse in Your Soul Rosé glows with a delicate pale pink hue—barely any color, but plenty of personality. The nose opens immediately with white peaches, nectarines, and pink grapefruit, rounded out by a floral hint of star jasmine that evokes the subtle spiciness of herbs. On the palate, it’s exactly what you need for a Niçoise pairing: lively, crisp, with an acidity of 7 g/l that cuts through the saltiness of the capers and olives like a fresh breeze. The citrus notes of grapefruit and lemon sherbet play beautifully with the salad’s lemon dressing, while the delicate herbal spice of lemon thyme and blood orange aromatically complements the basil and green beans. With just 11% alcohol and 3 g/l residual sugar, this rosé is the epitome of summer elegance—light on the palate yet with a length and precision one would hardly expect from a rosé in this price range.

The recipe:

Niçoise Salad with Grilled Tuna & Quail Eggs

A fresh take on the classic Salade Niçoise: grilled tuna steak, quail eggs, green beans, cherry tomatoes, Niçoise olives, capers, and a lemon dressing on a bed of fresh leaf lettuce—paired with the Claymore “Birdhouse in Your Soul” Rosé from the Clare Valley. This Australian wine proves that a bone-dry rosé with citrus freshness and herbal notes is the perfect pairing for this Provençal classic.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Cuisine Provençal

Servings 2 people

Calories 580 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Grillpfanne oder Außengrill
• 1 Kleiner Topf zum Kochen der Wachteleier
• 1 Großer Topf zum Blanchieren der Bohnen
• 1 Schneidebrett und scharfes Messer
• 1 Salatschüssel oder zwei flache Teller zum Anrichten
• 1 Kleines Schraubglas für das Dressing

Ingredients

  

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FOR THE TUNA:

• 2 Tuna steaks approx. 150–180 g, sushi-grade, at least 2 cm thick
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• Fleur de Sel black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of lemon zest Bio

FOR THE QUAIL EGGS:

• 8 Quail eggs
• Ice water for cooling off

FOR THE SALAD:

• 150 g green beans cleaned
• 200 g cherry tomatoes halved
• 80 g Niçoise Olives or black olives
• 2 tablespoon of capers drained
• 4 Anchovy fillets in oil optional
• 1 A handful of lamb’s lettuce or romaine lettuce
• 4 medium-sized potatoes firm-cooking, precooked

FOR THE LEMON DRESSING:

• 4 Tablespoon of olive oil extra virgin
• 2 Tablespoon of lemon juice freshly squeezed
• 1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1 small clove of garlic grated
• Salt black pepper

Instructions

 

PREPARATION:

• Cook the potatoes in salted water, let them cool, and slice them.
• Cook the quail eggs in boiling water for 3 minutes, rinse them under cold water, and peel them carefully.
• Blanch the green beans in boiling salted water for 3–4 minutes, then plunge them into ice water and pat them dry.
• To make the dressing, shake all the ingredients together in a screw-top jar and season to taste.
• Rub the tuna steaks with olive oil and season with lemon zest, salt, and pepper.

COOKING STEPS:

• Heat the grill pan over high heat until it smokes slightly.
• Grill the tuna steaks for 1.5–2 minutes per side—they should have a dark crust on the outside and still be pink on the inside.
• Remove from the heat and let it rest briefly.
• Cut the quail eggs in half lengthwise.

SERVE:

• Arrange the lamb’s lettuce or romaine lettuce as a base on two shallow plates or a large platter.
• Arrange the potato slices, blanched green beans, and cherry tomatoes loosely on top.
• Sprinkle in the olives, capers, and anchovy fillets.
• Place the tuna steaks, cut diagonally, on top of the salad.
• Arrange the quail egg halves around the tuna.
• Drizzle the lemon dressing over the entire salad.
• Finish with Fleur de Sel and freshly ground pepper.

SIDE DISHES:

• Fresh baguette with butter
• Tapenade with Slices of Bread
• Serve with ice-cold rosé in a wine glass

Nutrition

Calories: 580kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 48gFat: 28g

Keyword Claymore Rosé Clare Valley, Grilled Tuna Salad, Niçoise Salad Recipe, Quail Egg Salad, Rosé Wine Pairings with Fish, Salade Niçoise, Summer Recipe from France, Wine from Australia

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