Summer's Best Salad
If there’s one entrée that defines “the ultimate summer meal” for me, it’s my friend Karen’s Salmon and Green Bean Salad. When our green beans are ready for harvest, this is the first meal I make with them. My husband and I have this salad at least twice a week during peak green bean season. Its ease of preparation and sensational flavor make it a favorite. Just add a loaf of crusty bread and a glass of Pinot Grigio for a summer meal that’s perfect patio or picnic fare.
This year we planted several rows of Blue Lake green beans, Italian flat beans, yellow wax beans and purple pod beans in our gardens. The latter three will be used to make three bean salad. The Blue Lake beans will be eaten fresh, shared with friends and canned for winter use.
We always plant bush beans, which have been bred to grow in rather short bushy plants, as opposed to the climbing, pole variety because we don’t have to trellis them. Some gardeners and gourmets say that trellised beans have a better flavor than the bush variety but I can’t tell the difference between the two. They all taste good to me.
Sometimes called snap beans, because of the snapping noise that fresh ones make when you snap off the ends, green beans are also referred to as string beans. Fortunately, the tough strings that used to be a hallmark of the vegetable and gave them that nickname have been bred out of them within the last 50 years. But if you harvest the beans when they are past their prime, you can still get those tough strings on the pods. At that point, the beans are best relegated to the compost pile. No amount of cooking will tenderize them.
Fresh green beans are available from mid-July through early October. When selecting green beans look for ones that are uniform in color, firm and crisp in texture and free of spots. They should snap with a clean break and be string free. Beans that have the bean seeds visibly bulging through the skin, are dull in appearance, have wilted or pitted skins, and/or are woody and stringy should be avoided. If you are not going to use the beans right away, store them, unwashed, in a plastic bag in your refrigerator and use them within 3-5 days.
At 43 calories per cup and full of nutrients, green beans are a healthy eater’s best friend. One cup contains 122% of a person’s daily requirement of vitamin K and 20% of the minimum daily requirement of vitamin C. They are also a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium, folate, iron, magnesium, vitamins A, B1, B2 and B3, and niacin. And pairing them with Omega-3 rich salmon as in the salad recipe below makes for a delicious and nutritious meal.
Karen says this salad keeps well and is just as delicious when served the next day. I wouldn’t know…we never have leftovers of it!
Made with black pepper, kosher salt, dry mustard, fresh, finely chopped dill, young, slender, fresh green beans, salmon, smoked salmon (not lox), flaked, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice
Serves/Makes: 4
- 1 1/2 pound young, slender, fresh green beans
- 1 can (14.75 ounce size) red or pink salmon, drained and boned, with skin removed, flaked *
- 4 ounces smoked salmon (not lox), flaked
- 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/3 cup best quality olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons fresh, finely chopped dill
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Rinse the green beans under cold water.
Snap or cut off the ends of the beans. Snap or cut them into 1 inch pieces, and place them in large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain the beans and place them in large bowl of ice water until completely cool--about 5-10 minutes.
Drain the cooled beans and pat them dry with paper towels.
Place beans in large serving bowl. Add the flaked salmon and chopped onion and combine gently with a rubber spatula.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, dill, and dry mustard until completely blended.
Pour the dressing over the beans and salmon and gently stir with a rubber spatula to combine. If the salad seems a bit dry, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to moisten it.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours to allow flavors to mingle.
Serve cold or at room temperature.
*Note: You can prepare the green beans a day ahead of time and store them in a covered dish or storage bag in your refrigerator.
You can substitute 1 pound of cold poached or grilled salmon with skin removed, flaked for the canned salmon.
Victoria's Note: This recipe was adapted from Dilled Salmon and Bean Salad, Reader's Digest Quick and Delicious.
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