Summer
Recipes
Salads and Vegetables
Runner and green beans with anchovy vinaigrette
Delicious served warm or cold, this runner and green bean salad with anchovy vinaigrette makes an excellent accompaniment to chicken or lamb chops. Alternatively eat it on its own as light meal with added soft boiled eggs or with flaked tuna for extra protein. Try to choose smaller runner beans, as the larger ones can be stringy, or use any mixture of beans, including podded fresh borlotti or cannellini, although these will need a longer cooking time.
Serves 6
This recipe originally appeared in House & Garden magazine, photo courtesy of Helen Cathcart
Ingredients
- 4 small or 2 large shallots
- 700g runner beans
- 300g green beans
- 2tbsp best quality red wine vinegar (I use Volpaia)
- 8 fillets salted anchovies in oil (try to find an Italian or Spanish brand)
- 2tsp Dijon mustard
- 4tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 10g basil leaves
- 10g flat leaf parsley leaves
- Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel, halve and finely slice the shallots. Put them in a small bowl and pour over the vinegar, add a pinch of salt and toss them around so they are well coated in the vinegar. Leave to macerate for at least 15minutes.
- Cut just the tops off the beans, you can leave the tails. Cut the runner beans into shorter lengths, approximately the same length as the green beans.
- Cook in plenty of boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes until tender (or steam for 3-4 minutes). Drain and cover to keep warm.
For the dressing:
- Roughly chop the anchovies and pound them to a rough paste using a pestle and mortar. Stir in the Dijon and then strain the vinegar from the shallots, keeping the shallots aside, and mix this into the anchovies. Using a fork or a small whisk, add the oil in a thin stream, whisking constantly to make a thick emulsion. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper (the anchovies will provide plenty of salt).
To assemble:
- Put the beans in a salad bowl with the shallots. Roughly chop or tear the basil and parsley and add to the beans. Pour over the anchovy dressing and toss well. Taste a bean for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as necessary.
Comments