Versatile Green Bean Salad

comments (0) June 1st, 2008     

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Ingredients:
The basics:
Filet beans
Best-quality extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt

Optional ingredients (see note below)

In my kitchen, green beans get this treatment more often than any other. At its most basic—beans, olive oil, sea salt—it’s a simple and delicious side dish. Dressed up with some of the extras, it’s fit for a party. It’s good warm or at room temperature. Quantities are flexible, too—just eyeball how much you think you’ll need. Because there’s no acid in the dressing, leftovers keep well. Really good olive oil and sea salt are crucial to this dish.

Put a pot of water on to boil. Trim the stems from the beans, and boil until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain well. Spread the hot beans on a shallow serving dish or platter, and immediately drizzle with about 1 Tbs. of your best olive oil. Using your hands or two serving forks, turn the beans gently until they are thoroughly coated with oil. Sprinkle with sea salt. At this point, the beans are ready to eat. If you want, add some of the extra ingredients noted below, toss gently to mix, and adjust seasoning.

Note: The list of optional extra ingredients is almost limitless. Some good ones include toasted nuts of almost any kind, toasted sesame seeds, cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomato strips, roasted pepper strips, thinly sliced red or sweet onion, sliced scallions, grilled or boiled corn, cut from the cob, currants, diced dried apricots, and minced herbs.

Recipe by Ruth Lively
June 2001
from issue #33

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posted in: beans, side dish

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