Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad is the perfect summer salad. Make ahead of time to give the tomatoes time to let their juice run into the vinaigrette and the beans time to absorb the flavors of the dressing.
The making of Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad
My summer garden is winding down, but this year my green beans did just great! I think one trick was, I shaded their roots. I intended to provide shade for lettuce, and in putting up the little umbrella, I also ended up shading the roots of my green beans.
If you look at a seed package of green beans, it says they love full sun. And that might be true, but I think they prefer to have some shade on their roots in the prime heat of the day. Why do I say that you might ask? Well, The year before last, we had a great crop of green beans, and they were planted behind our corn. Last year we had a horrible crop of green beans, planted in almost the same spot, but there was nothing in front of them. Full-on direct sun all day. This year, as I said, I put an umbrella up for lettuce and once again, shaded their roots. So from this, I'm going to conclude, green beans like full sun, but not on their roots. So there. We will prove or disprove this theory next year. But for this year, it worked.
In this recipe, I say to cook the green beans until just crisp-tender. I don't know if you've ever noticed, but if you don't hit crisp-tender just right, you get a texture in your green bean that is not so good, it's not crisp, it's not tender it's just chewy. Well, check your beans and if you are at that "chewy" place, cook for a little longer and get to tender. I personally like my beans a bit more on the tender, then the crisp side, so I cook them for about 5 - 7 minutes. Plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking and set the green and you are good to go in finishing this simple Green bean and Cherry Tomato Salad.
This is one of those oh, so simple, recipes that people ask for often. It was one of the hits from my Son's 21st Birthday Bash.
Make this salad ahead of time to give the tomatoes time to let their juice run into the vinaigrette and the beans time to absorb the flavors of the dressing.
Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans trimmed and halved
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half, or 3 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Pinch of sugar
- ¼ cup best quality extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil or parsley (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Fill a saucepan with water, season generously with salt; bring to a boil, and add the green beans. Cook until crisp-tender, about 5 - 7 minutes. Drain and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain again and dry on a towel or paper towels.
- Whisk the mustard, vinegar, and sugar together in a large bowl; slowly add the oil in a steady stream, whisking it as you pour. When the dressing has thickened, whisk in salt and pepper, to taste. Add the beans and tomatoes, and herbs; toss to mix. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes. If you are going to allow it to sit longer than an hour, cover and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator at least an hour before serving to allow to come to room temperature.
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