Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Farmer's Market Green Bean Salad



I found these gorgeous haricot verts at our local Farmer's Market during the summer and was particularly attracted to the dark, purple-ish beans.

The vendor told me as soon as the dark beans "get heated up" they turn dark green and they tasted just like a regular green bean.

I bought them anyway and lo and behold, they did lose their purple color, they were a darker shade of green than the other green beans.

No doubt these beautiful beans would be perfect as a summer salad.

1/2 lb. each of your favorite three fresh whole green beans totaling 1-1/2 lbs of whole green beans
                 Trimmed, rinsed and drained
1 small red onion roughly chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 lemon, juiced (approximately 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Blanch the beans in a large pot of salted, boiling water for 3 minutes.  Immediately drain the beans and transfer them to a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.  This will also allow the beans to maintain their crispiness.  Leave the beans in the ice water for a couple of minutes to cool them off, the drain them thoroughly in a colander.

In a bowl or Mason jar, whisk together or shake the Dijon mustard, lemon juice and sugar.  Then add in the olive oil and whisk or shake the jar vigorously to emulsify.

Place the beans and onions in a large bowl, toss together to combine.  Drizzle the dressing over the beans and toss again to evenly coat the beans with the dressing.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, actually, the longer the beans can marinate in the dressing, the better they will taste.



I need to make this one more time before the hot weather leaves us this season!


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8 comments:

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I bought purple beans a couple of years ago at the farmer's market and I was so excited to try them. Mine turned when cooked too. I read later that steaming may help them hold their color or eat them raw. Sadly I haven't seen them since to see if steaming works. I'll be on the lookout this weekend at our market and try your recipe.
Sam

David said...

Katherine, Laurie would just love this salad. Three bean salad is one of her favorites but we never have it at home as I'm not into raw onions or chunks of onion even cooked... I do limit her menu and she reminds me of it regularly! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

The JR said...

Those are our favorites.

Marjie said...

My dearly beloved wouldn't touch cold beans with a 10 foot pole, but I think that he'd like the colorful beans cooked and still hot, especially with a touch of garlic and an olive oil drizzle!

Penny said...

This is so much better than a 3 bean salad. Thanks Katherine. Love the colors and the concept.

Lyndas recipe box said...

This salad sounds so yummy! I haven't seen these beans at our maket yet, but guess I could use regular green beans if needed.

Blond Duck said...

I wish I had a farmer's market this good!

Chris said...

I bought a batch of the purple ones last year and same thing. I used every color preservation trick I know (shocking them, no acids, lid off while boiling, etc) and they still turned green. So I just called them magic beans, lol.