This salad makes a wonderful side dish to serve with roast chicken or fish. But you could also make a meal of it by adding some crusty bread, a poached egg, or even both. The dill gives this salad an unexpected freshness, but feel free to use parsley instead.

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Green Bean Salad

Total Time 15

Servings people as a side

Ingredients

200 g green beans stalk end trimmed
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon or french mustard
1 small bunch dill chopped
small handful almonds chopped, optional

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Bring a small saucepan of salted water to the boil.
Simmer beans for 5 minutes or until no longer crunchy.
Meanwhile combine vinegar and mustard with 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Season.
4, Drain beans. Toss in the dressing while they are warm.
Add dill and almonds (if using), and serve.

Variations

nut free – skip the almonds or replace with 1/4 small red onion, very finely diced and tossed in the dressing before the beans.

no dill? – just skip the herbs or replace with chopped parsley or mint.

no mustard – just skip it or replace with a tablespoon of cream or sour cream.

different veg – the beans can be replaced with snow peas, sugar snap peas, frozen peas or asparagus.

Prepare Ahead?

Cook beans then drain and refresh under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towel then toss in the dressing. Refrigerate for up to a week. To serve, toss through dill and sprinkle over the almonds.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

green beans – freeze.

vinegar, mustard, almonds – pantry.

dill – best to use for another meal. Great finely chopped and served with fish.

Problem Solving Guide

too crunchy – it’s really easy to undercook beans, so make sure they’re tender before you drain. If you’ve already dressed the beans there’s not much you can do unless you’re prepared to pop them back in a saucepan of boiling water and make a fresh batch of dressing.

beans turning brown – either your beans weren’t at their freshest or they’ve been overcooked. The pH (acidity or alkalinity) of your water can dull the green colour of beans. A good way to test is to boil some beans in filtered water or bottled water and if they keep their colour, you know it’s a water problem. Steaming rather than boiling can help preserve colour.

too creamy – I’ve made this quite a generously dressed salad. If you prefer your salad a bit more modest, you could halve the dressing OR if you’ve already dressed it, use paper towel to blot away excess dressing and transfer to a clean bowl, leaving as much dressing behind as you like.

can’t find dill? – dill can be a bit hit-and-miss to find in my market. Replace it with another fresh leafy herb such as parsley, chives, basil or even tarragon.

Leftover Potential

I prefer this salad while the beans are sill warm, but it’s fine to keep in the fridge and serve cold.