Fresh Bean Salad

Ahhhhh summer. What a lovely time of year for fresh produce. And sometimes the best fresh produce needs to remain fresh and not cooked. This year most of us on my Dads side of the family planted purple beans this summer. Purple beans are just green beans that are purple essentially. Although they do turn green once cooked. And while my garden is small and I could only plant two small rows of beans my Dad was able to plant considerably more than me. Why is that important in the grand scheme of things? It is not unless I go to visit him and am able to take advantage of his garden produce! And he had bags of fresh picked purple beans. I had been forming an idea in my head of eating them in either a bean salad or bean and pasta salad. Because to be honest with you those beans are delicious right off the plant. In fact I ate almost as many as I picked while we were outside. They are just so sweet and crisp. They are never any better in my opinion. And while cooking or steaming them tastes good too, I wanted to find a recipe that would allow me to indulge in the crispness of the raw bean. And this is the recipe we ended up with. And I hope you enjoy your fresh produce as much as we did!

Recipe:
8-oz purple beans, cut into 1cm coins
1 pint fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ball of fresh mozzarella, cubed
handful of basil, chiffonade

Place in a large bowl and gently toss.

Dressing:
1/3c white balsamic or white wine vinegar
1/2 small shallot, minced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/3-2/3c extra virgin olive oil (depending on how tart you like yours)
salt and pepper

Combine your ingredients and whisk to make sure it is emulsified. Pour over your vegetables. Gently mix to coat every piece. Let it sit for half an hour. This can also be made several hours in advance, just make sure and toss the salad together before serving to make sure the vinaigrette is mixed and evenly distributed.

This was a very light and refreshing salad that would be a great addition to any summer meal. Ours just happened to be ribs. The burst of flavors in your mouth was just wonderful. I think I overdresed the salad and the beans lost a little bit of their sweetness. But I suppose thats the price you pay sometimes. But overall it was a very delicious dish that I absolutely recommend. So happy summer eating everyone!!