Warm Green Bean Salad

Difficulty:
1/5

Ease of Preparation: Easy

Yield: serves 4-6, as a salad

This warm salad of green and yellow beans will help take the chill out of a winter’s eve! Crispy pancetta, creamy goat cheese, zingy balsamic and peppery mustard seeds all add and round out the flavours in this perfectly balanced first course or side dish.

Ingredients:

  • 5 ½ ounces (150 g) goat cheese
  • 2/3 pound (300 g) green beans, trimmed and blanched
  • 2/3 pound (300 g) yellow beans, trimmed and blanched
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive
  • ½ pound (227 g) pancetta, cut into thin matchsticks
  • 1 white onion, sliced thin
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) chili flakes
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) caraway seeds
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) mustard seeds

Method:

Place the goat cheese in the freezer and chill until frozen through.

To blanch the green and yellow beans: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes and set alongside. Working in batches to keep the water from losing temperature, add handfuls of the beans to the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds per batch, then immediately transfer to the ice bath to stop the cooking. Allow the water to return to a full boil between handfuls. Continue until all the beans have blanched and shocked in the ice water. Drain and pat dry. Reserve at room temperature for the salad.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta to the pan and cook 5-6 minutes, until browned and slightly crisp.

Add onions and garlic, toss and cook for 3 minutes stirring occasionally.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the lardon and onions to a lined plate, reserve warm.

Add caraway and mustard seeds, toast in pan 1-2 minutes, then add chili flakes.

Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes, until slightly reduced.

Add the beans, pancetta, and onions to the pan and toss over the heat until combined with the sauce and warmed through. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the beans have just warmed through, transfer to serving dishes, stacking to make a neat presentation.

Finely grate the frozen goat cheese over the top to create “snow”.

Serve immediately.