I spotted some beautiful beans at Mana Foods a few days ago and immediately thought of a refreshing summer bean salad. Into the basket went the beans. I was curious about the purplish string beans that aren’t commonly seen here and thought they would add such a lovely color to the salad.
Little did I know those purplish string beans wouldn’t retain their color. As soon as I dropped them into the boiling water the beans turned green. Oops!
This simple and delicious recipe for green bean salad with fresh corn and tomatoes comes from the Washington Post. The dressing calls for lots of herbs and lucky for me they were growing in my garden.
This salad was a perfect match for the pappardelle, Swiss chard and Italian sausage pasta we prepared for dinner.
Green & Yellow Bean Salad with Fresh Corn, Tomatoes & Herb Dressing
Adapted from the Washington Post
Serves 2 – 3 as a side dish
Ingredients
8 ounces fresh beans – green and yellow
1 large ear fresh corn (about 1/2 cup)
4 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes cut in halves
1/4 cup thinly sliced Maui or red onion
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons each, finely chopped:
thyme ~ tarragon ~ basil ~ chives ~ Italian parsley
Preparation
Trim beans and either leave whole or cut in halves. Prepare a bowl of ice water for the beans. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add salt and cook beans until just al dente, about 1 – 2 minutes. Drain and immediately submerge the beans in the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain cooled beans and place on a kitchen towel.
Rinse corn and with the water still clinging to the corn place on a microwave safe plate (I use a paper plate) and cover loosely with a piece of waxed paper. Cook on high for 45 seconds, flip corn over and cook for another 30 seconds or so. Remove corn kernels and set aside. Alternately, bring a saucepan of water to a boil and cook corn for 30 – 60 seconds.
In a small bowl whisk the lemon juice with Dijon, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk while adding the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until well combined. Whisk in the herbs.
Place the beans, corn, tomatoes and onions on a platter and toss with the herb dressing. It’s also delicious with a bit of crumbled feta cheese.
Beautiful salad.