Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright

Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright

Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright Mediterranean Green Bean Salad with Sweet Pepper, Fresh Herbs, Toasted Hazelnuts, Kalamata Olives & Goat Cheese

One of the advantages of teaching a cooking class or having friends for dinner, I’m driven to perfect unfamiliar recipes. So, there I was with a Mediterranean Green Bean Salad on the upcoming class menu, and only had a recipe to try from the cookbook of a famous chef Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright(who will remain anonymous).

The first try following the recipe exactly was way less than okay. After the second try, even with a number of adjustments, this recipe just didn’t work for me.

I needed to rethink the recipe. I’d keep the green beans, sweet peppers and herbs but change out the dressing and increase the “add-ins.” Yay, the third time hit all the right notes. Clean, crisp, fresh, herbal and bright. Each bite a delight. And yet, maybe it would benefit from some orange zest and juice. And so it did. And so it is. Beautiful, healthy and delicious.

Roast and rub hazelnuts

Hazelnuts have a thin brown and slightly bitter skin. For theirMediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright buttery flavor to come through, do try to rub off much of that papery skin.

  • After roasting, immediately wrap the hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel.
  • Let the nuts sit in the towel for at least 20 minutes to cool.
  • Then, while the nuts are still in the towel, use your hands to rub the hazelnuts together to remove the skin.

Why this works:Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright

  • When the nuts are heated, they expand.
  • When the nuts have time to cool, they contract.
  • It is the contraction that separates the nuts from their skin, allowing the skin to more easily rub away.

Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright

Mediterranean Green Bean Salad with Sweet Pepper, Fresh Herbs, Hazelnuts, Kalamata Olives & Goat Cheese

Have fun improvising with this Mediterranean Green Bean Salad. Add or substitute cooked sugar snap peas, snow peas or even broccoli florets. Feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts, walnuts or pistachios would all be tasty additions. As would pomegranate arils (seeds), during the fall and winter months when they are in season.
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Makes 4 entrée servings; 6-8 side-salad servings
Total Time   40 minutes

Ingredients

For the dressing:
1 tablespoon thinly sliced shallotMediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright
1 teaspoon homemade mustard or other country-style mustard
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
6 twists freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

¼ cup hazelnutsMediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright
1 sweet red, yellow or orange bell pepper
¼ teaspoon olive oil
Large pinch of salt
10 ounces fresh green beans
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup thinly-sliced scallions
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
¼ cup pitted, quartered Kalamata olives
¼ cup crumbled fresh goat cheese

Directions
  1. Begin preparing the dressing. Combine the thinly-sliced shallot, mustard and Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Brightvinegars in a 1- cup jar with a tight-fitting lid. Having this mixture sit at room temperature while you prepare the salad ingredients mellows the shallot’s sharpness.
  2. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Roast the hazelnuts for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a towel. Roll them up and set them aside.
  3. Raise the oven to 475 degrees. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper.
  4. Remove the seeds Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright and core from the bell pepper. Slice the pepper into ¼-inch strips. Transfer the pepper strips to the parchment paper. Toss them with ¼ teaspoon olive oil and a large pinch of salt. Roast them in the oven for 10 minutes until tender. Remove from the oven and set them aside to cool.
  5. Trim the stem end from the green beans. Cut the beans in half. Add the beans to the boiling water along with the ¼ teaspoon salt. Begin timing the beans when the water returns to a boil. Check them at 6 minutes. They should be both crisp and tender. (My last two batches of beans took 9 minutes each.) When done, immediately refresh them in a bowl of ice water. When cold, drain the beans. Roll Mediterranean Green Bean Salad – Clean, Crisp, Fresh, Herbal and Bright them up in a towel to dry.
  6. Rub the hazelnuts together in their towel to remove much of the papery skin. Coarsely chop them.
  7. Combine the green beans and roasted peppers in a medium bowl along with the scallions, herbs, cheese and Kalamatas.
  8. Add the orange zest, orange juice and olive oil to the jar with the shallots. Tightly close the lid. Shake the jar until the dressing thickens.
  9. Just before serving add the hazelnuts and dressing to the salad ingredients. Toss together, adjusting the salt and pepper to taste.

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