This green bean salad makes an easy side dish that’s packed full of fresh, simple flavours. Cooking and then shocking the French beans in ice water might prove the trickiest part of this recipe. It’s the perfect salad to serve alongside grilled meats at your next barbecue.
The Importance of Green Beans
Green beans, sometimes referred to as French beans, are unopened fruits of the common bean. Often served as a warm side dish on their own, they’re also found in variations of a classic nicoise salad. They have a fresh grassy-like taste with a hint of sweetness. When cooked quickly, they retain a firm bite.
However delicious they are, it’s their nutritional make-up that makes this green bean salad a perfect accompaniment. Firstly, their high fibre, which is often deeply neglected in the modern diet, but helps aid digestion and maintain blood sugar levels.
It also contains a host of vitamins and minerals, essential for maintaining human health, no matter how active you are. Vitamin K supports bone strength, while iron helps energy production, lowering fatigue and helping you run longer.
Green beans are tough when raw and contain lectins. Lectins are natural plant proteins, but the human stomach doesn’t easily digest them. The side effects reported from eating lectins may include vomiting, diarrhoea, and nausea. Fortunately, cooking beans in water or a stew renders most lectins inactive.
What is Blanching?
Cooking green beans for this salad uses a technique known as blanching. Blanching can either fully cook foods or partially cook them. Here, it cooks green beans completely. Blanching vegetables involves quickly submerging them in boiling water until the desired texture is achieved.
Immediately after cooking, the vegetables need to be drained and submerged in a bowl of ice water. The ice-cold conditions immediately halted the cooking process that would have continued if the vegetables were left to cool in their own steam.
This technique not only preserves the colour of the green beans, but also their texture, and most importantly, their flavour and nutrients.
Pro Tip: Add salt to the boiling water. Not only does this season the beans from the inside out, but it also helps soften their fibrous walls for a better bite and texture.
Easy Green Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 160 g Cherry Tomatoes Halved
- 320 g Green Beans Trimmed and Halved
- 1 Red Onion Sliced
- Juice from ½ Lemon
- 4 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt/ Pepper
Instructions
- Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the beans. Cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain and plunge the beans into ice water. Drain the beans and allow them to air dry.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice, then set aside. You’ll need to whisk the dressing again before serving.
- In a bowl, mix the vegetables, then toss with the dressing. Season to taste and serve.
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