A classic salad gets a tropical twist

Salade Nicoise is the kind of French bistro concoction that looks casually composed but follows a specific regimen: olives, green beans, oil-packed tuna, anchovies, tomatoes, hard-cooked eggs and potatoes, served with a spiky vinaigrette.

This recipe, from Nadia Damaso, a 20-year-old Swiss food blogger ofEatBetterNotLess.com, omits the olives and anchovies and then perks things up with a blender mango dressing that I'd put on just about anything.

Minimal stove-top time for the beans, carrots and very small potatoes makes this a colorful and healthful dish that's fit for young cooks and busy folks to try on a weeknight. Compose the components to suit your inner artiste, or serve it in a glorious, messy, sunny heap.