Mondays are soup and salad nights at our house. My daughter HATES it, and I remember in third grade loudly asked why we made Monday’s even worse by serving soup and salad for dinner. She said, “Mondays already has bad karma all over the place, soup and salad makes it worse!” We explain that it is healthy to do once a week, to give your body and digestive system a bit of a break from heavy food. She is 15 now and I can say she still doesn’t buy into our reasoning. SO I have been trying lately to make soup and salad night a little more inspired. You’ll see some healthy but delicious soups and salads on the blog in the coming months. If my daughter east up my soups and salads with little complaint-I will judge the recipe blog-worthy. And this salad was one of those!
This recipe is delicious. I for one love green beans, and can’t wait for fresh green beans from the garden. This dressing is very easy and you can save leftovers for lunch salads during the week. It has a sweet Asian flavor profile. You can add other vegetables to the mix, but we kept this green and verdant with a punch of spicy shallots. I have to say, my cranky daughter ate a good handful of this salad with little complaint.
SUCCESS!
Honey and Soy Green Bean Salad
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
3 teaspoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1 pound of green beans, ends trimmed
1/2 English cucumber, peeled, seeds scooped out, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of arugula and spinach mix, rinsed and stems trimmed
toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Directions:
Combine the vinegar, the soy sauce, the honey, red pepper flakes, and the oil in a bowl. Whisk until well blended, and season with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
In a large pot in boiling water, blanch green beans for about 7 to 10 minutes until tender. Toss with cold water to stop the cooking process. This can be done ahead of time and kept chilled until serving time.
Ten minutes before serving, toss the beans with cucumber, shallot, and greens mixed with some of the dressing to taste. Garnish top of salad with sesame seeds. Serve the rest of the dressing on the side for guests to use more.
Photo How To:
Flora is an award-winning creative director in Chicago turned food and lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. She is also author to the popular BEE NATIVE! gardening book series and various children's books that celebrate the wonder and hard work of bees and butterflies. Her blog and social spaces inspire thousands to create, learn, cook, grow, and craft, making their world lovelier one pixel/petal/seed/bite/stitch/brushstroke at a time. Follow her on all the social spaces, YouTube, and Amazon, and get creative!
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