Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in D:\home\lindysez.com\wwwroot\wp-content\themes\genesis\functions\shortcodes\typography.php on line 69

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 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.