Green Bean and Pea Salad (with Tarragon)
Description
An incredibly pretty and incredibly tasty salad that friends treated us with this past summer. Borrowed from, ‘Plenty’, by Yotam Ottolenghi, it’s also flexible with the greens that you choose and pickled onions are a fabulous addition – enjoy!
Ingredients
For the salad – all amounts are negotiable, feel free to get creative!
~2 c. green beans, trimmed
~2 c. snow peas, trimmed
~2 c. fresh (or frozen) green peas – fresh were a real treat!
2 T. chopped tarragon
~1 c. baby chard – I’ve also used pea shoots
1 t. nigella seeds
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped, or thinly sliced into half moons (though pickled are my first choice)
Dressing – I simplified this!
2 T. EACH avocado oil AND freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
1 t. EACH honey AND Dijon
a good pinch of salt and a generous grinding of pepper
Instructions
Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil, then blanch the green beans for 4 minutes, adding the snap peas at the end and simmering for 1 minute more. Immediately pour all out into a colander in the sink and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Set aside to drain and dry while prepping the remaining ingredients.
Measure and shake together the dressing ingredients in a well sealed container, taste for seasonings, adjust as you see fit and then set aside while you put the salad platter together.
You can toss all together and then place on a plate, but I find that with glorious fresh ingredients, they hold up better if they’re very lightly dressed. So arrange all of your ‘greens’ in a constructed but tossed fashion on a platter that you plan to serve the salad on, shake the dressing again and drizzle lightly over all, sprinkle with the nigella seeds and the red onion (in whatever form it’s in) and serve. This is such a hit every time!
