string bean salad with mustard vinaigrette

I’ve never really been creative with string beans. There’s something about them that has never inspired me to reach out of my comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, I really like them, but they’re not one of those vegetables — like mushrooms and tomatoes — that have a zillion ways to be cooked. Every time I cook them, I boil them and serve them warm as a side dish. The ounce of creativity that I bring to the dish depends on the spices I use and the sauce in which I boil the string beans, which almost always tends to be made with tomatoes. Until recently, I had never tried making a string bean salad despite the numerous times I’ve thought about it. But when I finally got to it, it opened a whole new world of string bean inspiration.

When I have a vegetable hanging around in my fridge that I’m not inspired by, I head over to Food Network and look up all recipes that are made with that vegetable. Two weekends ago I had string beans still nicely packed in their bag in the fridge, and with no inspiration whatsoever, went on Food Network to see what I could do with them to prepare a light Saturday lunch. That’s when I fell upon Ina Garten‘s French String Bean Salad, served with a tangy mustard vinaigrette.

Instead of boiling your string beans for 10 to 15 minutes, Ina recommends boiling them only for a minute so that they are “crispy-tender”. I found that I needed to boil them a bit longer (3 to 5 minutes) for them to be slightly tender yet crunchy. I also wanted to bring a bit more flavor by adding diced red onion and a bit of fresh lemon juice to the vinaigrette. At the end of the day, I pretty much played around with all ingredients of the recipe to come up with my own variation. Topped with fresh dill, this string bean salad is ridiculously easy to make and is definitely a winner for the days you’re just too lazy to cook up a storm.

I’ll get back to my favorite string beans and tomato sauce recipe in a future post. For now, I hope you’ll enjoy this salad as much as Jon and I did!

one month ago on savormania: creamy cauliflower soup

string beans, found elsewhere: NYT Cooking‘s string beans with ginger and garlic, The Pioneer Woman‘s fresh green beans and Once Upon A Chef‘s fresh green beans with shallots

string bean salad with mustard vinaigrette

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Recipe type: Salad

Cuisine: French

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound (500g) string beans, both ends trimmed
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 7 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 ½ tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set aside.
2. Bring salted water to boil in a saucepan. When bubbling, throw in your string beans and simmer the vegetables covered for 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly tender but still crispy. Timing precision is key here -- don't over boil them or they'll be soggy.
3. Drain your string beans in a colander and immediately place them in the bowl with ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain your string beans again in the colander and place them in a bowl with the red onion. If you're not using your string beans right away, place them in the fridge.
4. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper.
5. Pour the dressing over the string beans when ready to serve. Mix well to combine.

Notes

ADAPTED FROM: Ina Garten's French String Bean Salad
TIP: Don't let the string beans sit in the dressing before serving them or the lemon will discolor the vegetables.

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