Green Bean Salad

This is an easy green bean salad which serves as an excellent side for your meals. It is fresh and tasty and the toasted almonds gives it some crunch. It can be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion or your mood. This is one salad you will make over and over again.

INGREDIENTS

(1) About 400 Grams Green Beans

(2) 1/4 Cup Sliced almonds

(3) 1 Small Shallot

(4) 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

(5) Salt and Pepper to Taste

(6) Goat Cheese and Roasted Garlic (Optional Toppings)

PROCEDURE:

(1) Chop off top and tail from green beans.

(2) Bring water to boil in a sauce pan and blanch beans for a couple of minutes. You want them to still have some crunch. Take off heat after 2 minutes and shock beans in cold water to stop cooking process and keep color. This next step is optional but creates a larger surface area for the seasoning: tear beans into two to expose the interior.

(3) Toast almonds for a couple of minutes or till slightly brown. Please do not ignore the almonds. It is an essential part of this recipe. Toasting them adds a lot of flavor to the salad. Trust me.

(4) Mince shallot finely.

(5) In a salad bowl, combine green beans, almonds and shallot. Drizzle olive oil over beans, season with salt and pepper and toss salad.

This salad can be served as a side with some meat or vegetables. Try it with some Mashed Potatoes (Recipe here). You can make it more interesting by adding some goat cheese and roasted garlic to the mix. Enjoy.