Yellow Bean, Cherry Tomatoes and Feta Salad

Beans, green or yellow, are one of the joys of summer cooking. Buttery and tender they feature regularly on the summer menu here and then disappear not to be seen again until the following spring. Sometimes during the winter we get haricot vert, the thin crisp green beans, imported from somewhere and I do get tempted if they look good, but really for me beans is summer cooking and I mostly try to keep it that way.

Beans don’t need much fuss. Drop them into boiling water until just crisp-tender, then plunge them into an ice water bath to stop the cooking and preserve the bright green or yellow colour. They are good with just a drizzle of olive oil or a pat of butter, a few chopped herbs, great salt and a twist of pepper. They are good warm, drizzled with thick cream and a sprinkling of fresh dill. They are good dressed with a light vinaigrette and served at room temperature. Good with cherry tomatoes. Good with warm tomato salsa. I can go on.

Today I made a simple salad with yellow beans, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. I sprinkled a little coarse sea salt from Sicily over, garnished with a handful of chopped parsley leaves and micro-greens and voila, a lovely summer salad. I am having company in Kelowna this weekend and plan to make this as the vegetable dish for dinner on Friday night.

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Ingredients:

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1 lb just picked yellow beans

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 basket cherry tomatoes, red and yellow, cut in half.

1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Good sea salt, fleur de sel, Sicilian sea salt etc.

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

A handful micro-greens or baby greens for garnish

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Directions:

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Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and then the beans. Bring back to a rapid boil and cook until the beans are crisp-tender. Be careful not to overcook them as they should have a crispy-soft texture for this salad. As soon as the beans are cooked drop them into a bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking and preserve the colour and texture. When they have cooled, drain and set aside.

To assemble, drizzle the beans with olive oil and toss to coat them with the oil.

Season with salt and pepper.

Toss the beans with the halved cherry tomatoes, feta and parsley.

Pile on a serving plate, scatter micro-greens over.

Serve at room temperature.

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