Chef Juliette
Butters and Creams
Beurres et crèmes d’hors-d’œuvre prove that cold-table finesse is mostly timing: smooth good dairy, cover it closely, hold it cool, then season only as you dish so every spoonful keeps a clean edge.
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Tunny with Tomatoes
Created by Chef Juliette
Thon aux tomates turns preserved tuna, ripe tomatoes, onion, and potato into a cool composed salad, with careful slicing and a plain vinaigrette doing all the work.
Salads
French
Weeknight
Picnic
Make Ahead
30 min
Active Time
25 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings
Thon aux tomates (tunny with tomatoes) teaches the quiet discipline of a composed salad: cut each ingredient with equal care, arrange it so every forkful carries the whole dish, and dress only after the platter is built. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is this: cold food magnifies water and mutes seasoning. The tomatoes and tuna must be well drained, the potatoes fully cooled, and the vinaigrette bright enough to wake them.
The source assumes prepared tuna and boiled potatoes waiting at a professional hors-d’œuvre station, then dispatches the arrangement in a sentence. It needed neither a saucier nor a stockpot; its brigade scaffolding was abundant mise en place and extra hands for slicing. Here, solid tuna loin preserved in oil supplies the prepared fish the entry leaves undefined, and the unwritten service quantity becomes one generous oval platter for four. One cook, one stove, one evening. The alternating slices, onion between them, potato border, and ordinary salad seasoning all stay because they are the dish.
The finished platter should be cool, bright, and orderly without becoming fussy: coral tuna, scarlet tomato, translucent onion, and pale potato under a light sheen of vinaigrette. Drying every slice before it reaches the platter is the step that decides whether those flavours remain distinct or disappear into a watery dressing.
Thon aux tomates belongs to the Mediterranean pantry of Provence, where preserved tuna, ripe tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and wine vinegar naturally met on the cold table. Grand kitchens carried that pantry combination into the formal hors-d’œuvre repertoire, imposing alternate slices and a precise border on food that port households served more freely. Despite ingredients shared with better-known southern salads, this is not salade niçoise: its potato border and deliberate tuna-and-tomato arrangement mark a separate composed preparation.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
waxy potatoes
Quantity
1¼ pounds (570 g / about 3 medium)
scrubbed
coarse sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
for the potato water
solid tuna loin preserved in olive oil
Quantity
12 ounces drained (340 g / about 2½ cups)
ripe but firm tomatoes
Quantity
4 medium (about 1½ pounds / 680 g)
cored
white or red onion
Quantity
1 small (about 3½ ounces / 100 g)
peeled
red wine vinegar
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g)
extra-virgin olive oil
Quantity
6 tablespoons (90 ml / 82 g)
fine sea salt
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| waxy potatoesscrubbed | 1¼ pounds (570 g / about 3 medium) |
| coarse sea saltfor the potato water | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| solid tuna loin preserved in olive oil | 12 ounces drained (340 g / about 2½ cups) |
| ripe but firm tomatoescored | 4 medium (about 1½ pounds / 680 g) |
| white or red onionpeeled | 1 small (about 3½ ounces / 100 g) |
| red wine vinegar | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) |
| extra-virgin olive oil | 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 82 g) |
| fine sea salt | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •3-quart saucepan
- •Sharp thin-bladed slicing knife
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •12-inch oval hors-d’œuvre platter
- •Small whisk and bowl
Instructions
- 1
Cook the potatoes
Put the whole potatoes in a 3-quart saucepan, cover them with cold water by 1 inch, and add the coarse salt. Bring slowly to a simmer, then cook gently for 18 to 25 minutes. A paring knife should enter the centre with slight resistance; the potatoes must be tender enough to eat but firm enough to slice. Drain them at once. When they are cool enough to handle, peel them, then chill for about 30 minutes. If one splits or softens at the edges, drain and chill it immediately. Ça se rattrape: use its firm central rounds for the border and save the broken ends for another meal.
A rolling boil knocks waxy potatoes against the pan until their skins split. Keep the water at a quiet simmer and test early. - 2
Drain and slice
Drain the tuna in a sieve for 10 minutes, then blot away excess oil without pressing the flesh dry. Cut the loin across the grain into broad slices about ⅓ inch (8 mm) thick. Slice the tomatoes to the same thickness and lay them on a clean towel for 5 minutes, blotting the upper surfaces as well. Cut the onion into nearly transparent rounds. If the tuna separates into flakes, overlap the largest pieces into broad sections; the alternating rhythm matters more than perfect circles.
- 3
Whisk the vinaigrette
Make the vinaigrette ordinaire, the ordinary salad seasoning: whisk the vinegar with the fine salt and pepper until the salt dissolves, then add the olive oil gradually while whisking. It should form a loose emulsion and taste one shade sharper than you would drink from a spoon, because potato and tuna soften its edge. A mustard-free vinaigrette naturally separates while it waits. Whisk it again just before dressing.
- 4
Compose the platter
Slice the chilled potatoes into rounds about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Across the centre of a long oval hors-d’œuvre dish, arrange alternating slices of tuna and tomato with a thin onion round between each one, overlapping them just enough to hold the line together. Build a continuous border of potato slices around the edge. This arrangement is not decoration added after the fact; it controls every serving, giving each person fish, tomato, onion, and potato in the intended proportion.
- 5
Dress and serve
Whisk the vinaigrette once more, then spoon it evenly over the tuna, tomatoes, onions, and potato border. Let the salad stand for 10 minutes so the surfaces take the seasoning, but do not leave it dressed for hours or the tomatoes will release their water. If liquid gathers on the platter, tilt it carefully and spoon off the excess before serving. Bring the dish to the table cool rather than numb from the refrigerator. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Buy solid tuna loin preserved in olive oil, either jarred or solid-packed in a can. Flaked tuna cannot give the broad slices the source asks for, though large broken pieces can still be overlapped neatly.
- •This dish belongs to ripe tomato season. A pale, woolly tomato has nowhere to hide here, and canned tomatoes cannot hold the arrangement. When good fresh tomatoes are absent, make poireaux vinaigrette instead and return to thon aux tomates when the market smells right.
- •The vinaigrette is deliberately plain: oil, wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mustard would stabilize it, but it would also place another flavour between the tuna and tomato. Whisk again and accept that a loose emulsion moves.
- •Serve with crusty bread and a chilled Picpoul de Pinet or a dry Provençal rosé. The wine wants enough acidity for the tomatoes and enough freshness for a picnic table.
Advance Preparation
- •Cook, peel, and chill the potatoes up to 24 hours ahead. Keep them whole and covered in the refrigerator, then slice shortly before arranging so their cut surfaces do not dry out.
- •The vinaigrette can be mixed up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in a closed jar. Let the oil lose its chill, then whisk or shake it thoroughly before use.
- •For a picnic, carry the potatoes, tomatoes, onion, drained tuna, and vinaigrette in separate chilled containers. Compose and dress the platter within 30 minutes of serving, and keep the ingredients at or below 40°F (4°C) in an ice-filled cooler.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 450g)
Calories
500 calories
Total Fat
28 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
15 mg
Sodium
730 mg
Total Carbohydrates
34 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
29 g
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