Green Bean, Potato and Leek Salad

YIELD: Serves 6

Ingredients

• 8 medium-small red potatoes
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed, halved crosswise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 2 leeks (white part only), halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise

• Chopped fresh parsley
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, shelled, quartered (optional)

Preparation

Boil or steam potatoes and green beans separately until tender but not mushy. Drain or remove from steamer. Cut each potato into eighths. Place in salad bowl. Add green beans. Blend Dijon mustard and vinegar in small bowl. Whisk in vegetable oil in thin stream. Pour over potatoes and beans and mix gently to coat. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté until tender and lightly browned, about 7 minutes.

Divide potato and green bean mixture among salad plates. Top each with sautéed leeks. Sprinkle salads with chopped fresh parsley. Garnish each salad with 2 hard-boiled egg quarters, if desired, and serve.

Long Bean, Cucumber, and Tomato Salad

yield
Makes 4 servings

Thai salads are full of crisp vegetables and fruits mixed with intense condiments. "It's not about just tossing the ingredients together," says Ricker. "It's about working them into the dressing," which can also be used to dress green-papaya and cabbage slaws.

Ingredients

• 2 dried Thai chiles, soaked for 2 minutes in warm water, drained
• 3 small garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 lime, cut into 3 wedges
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar or granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried tiny shrimp
• 9 long beans (2 1/2 ounces) or green beans, trimmed, cut into 2 1/2" lengths
• 2 kirby cucumbers or 1 English hothouse cucumber, coarsely chopped into 1" pieces
• 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons crushed roasted, unsalted peanuts

Preparation

Place first 4 ingredients in a clay mortar and pound with a wooden pestle until mashed into a fine paste, about 5 minutes. Add shrimp; mash until pulverized and well combined, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, process in a mini-processor until finely chopped.)

Add long beans to mortar; lightly crush with pestle to bruise. Add cucumber pieces, fish sauce, and lime juice. Mix well. Add tomatoes, lightly crush, and mix in. (Alternatively, place beans and tomatoes in a resealable plastic bag. Roll a rolling pin over bag to bruise vegetables; transfer to a bowl with the cucumber, fish sauce, lime juice, and chile dressing.) Let marinate for 10 minutes. Stir in peanuts.

Nicoise Salad

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad

• 2 grilled or otherwise cooked tuna steaks* (8 oz each) or 2-3 cans of tuna
• 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and either halved or quartered
• 10 small new red potatoes (each about 2 inches in diameter, about 1 1/4 pounds total), each potato scrubbed and quartered
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium heads Boston lettuce or butter lettuce, leaves washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3 small ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into eighths
• 1 small red onion, sliced very thin
• 8 ounces green beans, stem ends trimmed and each bean halved crosswise
• 1/4 cup niçoise olives
• 2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and/or several anchovies (optional)

Method

*Marinate tuna steaks in a little olive oil for an hour. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat, or place on a hot grill. Cook the steaks 2 to 3 minutes on each side until cooked through.

1 In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, shallot, thyme, basil, oregano, and mustard. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

2 Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with 4 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt and cook until potatoes are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain. Toss warm potatoes with 1/4 cup vinaigrette; set aside.

3 While the potatoes are cooking, in a separate pot, add a quart of water and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil. Add the green beans to the pot. Blanch until tender but still a little firm, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the beans from the pot and place in ice water to stop the cooking. After about 30 seconds, drain the beans. Toss the beans in 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and add salt and pepper to taste.

4 While potatoes and green beans are cooking, toss lettuce with 1/4 cup vinaigrette in large bowl until coated. Arrange bed of lettuce on a serving platter (I used two serving platters, shown in the photos). Cut tuna into 1/2-inch thick slices, coat with vinaigrette. Mound tuna in center of lettuce. Toss tomatoes, red onion, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste in bowl; arrange tomato-onion mixture on the lettuce bed. Arrange the  potatoes and green beans in mounds at edge of lettuce bed.

5 Arrange hard boiled eggs, olives, and anchovies (if using) in mounds on the lettuce bed. Drizzle eggs with remaining 2 tablespoons dressing, sprinkle entire salad with capers (if using), and serve immediately.

Green Bean and Radish Salad

This salad is our version of one served at Auckland-based artisanal honey producer BeesOnline. A chile-infused honey compliments the spicy radishes and gives the green beans some sweet heat.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. green beans, trimmed
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ lb. radishes, trimmed and quartered
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. honey, preferably chilli honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Blanch green beans until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and quickly plunge green beans into a bowl of ice water, to cool them. Drain.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add green beans, radishes, and garlic and cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add honey, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until vegetables are just beginning to caramelize, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer salad to a large bowl; set aside to let cool slightly.

3. Season salad with salt and pepper to taste and divide between 4 small plates. Serve at room temperature.

String Beans with Savory

Try the same crisp-tender preparation with asparagus, sugar snap peas, or broccoli florets. Garnish with lemon slices.

    Cooking Light     OCTOBER 2008

• Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beans, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 teaspoon fresh savory
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

1. Cook beans in boiling water 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.

2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 1 minute or until lightly browned. Add beans, juice, and savory to pan, tossing to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.