How to Make Country French Bean Salad
Picnic or Bastille Day Party - Try this Piquant Blend of Legumes
The trick for a flavorful bean salad is dressing the beans when they are warm. They absorb some of the dressing as they cool.
The delicate haricots verts are wonderful, but this colorful salad made with ordinary fresh green beans will still be good. In winter you may be forgiven if you even use frozen or canned green beans, but remember to warm the beans before dressing.
To make a picnic out of it, all you need are baguettes, fresh fruit, some Brie or maybe some chevre, and of course the wine. A Chardonnay or why not try a dry French Rosé.
Country French Bean Salad
Yield: 10 servings
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3/8 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salad Ingredients:
- 3/4 lb haricots verts beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 15oz can white beans, drained
- 1 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1/4" x 2” strips
- 1/2 red onion, sliced vertically
- 3/4 cup pitted Niçoise or Kalamata olives
Method:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Set aside.
- Steam the green beans until they are crisp tender. They should still have a bit of snap when you bite into them.
- Meanwhile gently warm the white beans and kidney beans, preferably in separate pans or containers to keep the colors distinct. They don’t need cooking, just warming to encourage them to absorb the dressing..
- To a large bowl, add the onion and bell pepper strips.
- Then, in this order, add a layer each of kidney beans, white beans, haricots verts, and olives.
- Give the dressing another whisk and pour over the salad. Allow the salad to cool. Toss gently and refrigerate, covered, for at least two hours.
- To serve, gently toss the ingredients and allow the salad to return to room temperature.
Variation: For extra crunch, add some diced celery and carrot, like the picture.
About Bastille Day
Picture this: A scant six years before, French soldiers had returned home after helping the American colonies win independence from Britain. The French common people were growing increasingly frustrated with the oppressive ruling class who lived obscenely opulent lives on the sweat of everyone beneath them.
On July 14, 1789, angry crowds stormed the Bastille, a Paris prison where those who opposed the king were jailed. Perhaps ironically, there were only seven prisoners in the Bastille at the time. Nevertheless, this act sparked the French Revolution and eventually the establishment of the first French Republic, dedicated to Liberty, Fraternity and Equality.
Every year, parades pass under the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysées. And of course there are parties everywhere, not just in Paris, but around the world, wherever French and Francophiles live. Vive la France!
