First Harvest: Green Bean Salad

I am so excited!  I collected my first harvest of the season from my little vegetable patch this morning;  haricot verts or French green beans!

Haricot Verts are long, thin beans that are very tender.  They have a subtle, sweet flavor and I love'em!

As it is early in the harvest, I don't have a lot of beans, but I didn't want to leave them on the vine too long...they have a tendency to get tough, or worse, become dinner for the resident chipmunks.  Tonight, I am going to make a refreshing salad using my beans and farm fresh cherry tomatoes. With the cold spring we've had, my tomatoes are about 2 weeks off pace...but there are loads of little green gems on the vines!

French Bean Salad  serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound fresh French green beans (Haricot Verts) , washed and stem ends clipped

1 pint  heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

1 half medium red onion , sliced thinly

1 cup canned chick peas, rinsed and drained ( or you can cook dried peas according to package directions)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh herbs (I use thyme, parsley and basil)

1 tsp sea salt and  10 grinds of coarse ground  black pepper

Method

In a large pot of boiling water, plunge the beans and blanch for about 30 seconds.  Drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, drain and set beans on a towel lined sheet pan.

In a bowl, mix the red wine vinegar with salt and pepper.  Add the red onion and allow to soak for a few minutes. This method mellows the red onion which can sometimes be hot/spicy/overly pungent.

In a large serving  bowl, add the beans, chick peas, tomatoes, and herbs.  Add the onion and vinegar mixture. Toss gently.  Drizzle with the olive oil.

Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.

Serve with grilled meats and crusty bread.

Wine recommendation:  A lovely, chilled 2009 Rose'

Bon appetit!