Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Farmer's Market Green Bean and Tomato Salad

I can't help myself when it comes to farmer's markets.  Even if I wander through the stalls for a while without any intention of buying, I must MUST try a sip of freshly made apple cider (my favorite!) or "taste" (is it really a taste if I "taste" four, or maybe....five times??) a sweet New Jersey cherry tomato.

This weekend I had to have these multi-colored green beans.  They were beautiful--purple, green, yellow and instead of cooking them to death, I thought I'd make a salad so they could still (somewhat) retain their pretty natural colors.
Begin with:
Green Beans 
Shallots
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste


Clean the beans first, then chop off the ends.  Start boiling a pot of salted water, but have an ice water bath ready.  You are going to blanch (! this was my first time doing a fancy cooking move, all learned from Smitten Kitchen) the beans.

The purple beans lost their color in the boiling water, which was pretty sad.  Keep them in the water for about three minutes, or until they are tender but haven't lost their crunch.  Then, throw them in the ice water so they stop cooking.  Chop them up into pretty pieces after you've dried them off.

Mince the shallot, or chop it up finely.  Put about a third to a half cup of olive oil in a pan, and when it is heated, throw the shallots in.  It'll take just a few seconds for the shallots to cook through, just long enough to take the raw, biting edge off for a salad, and just enough time for it to fill your kitchen with amazing smells.
Then, put the oil and vinegar in a bowl.  Put about two tablespoons of red wine vinegar in, a splash of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.  

Chop up whatever (farmer's market or Amish Market) tomatoes you have in the fridge.  I used Amish Market "cocktail" tomatoes.  Throw these, the green beans and the dressing all together.
Enjoy!

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