Improvised green bean salad takes advantage of seasonal bounty

The Green Bean Tomato Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette makes the most of fresh seasonal ingredients. (Janet Podolak)

“Salad for 24” was the dish requested when I asked what I could bring to a recent gathering to celebrate a friend’s early autumn birthday.

“What a nightmare,”  I thought, while considering how to mix and transport lettuces, veggies and dressings, while keeping everything crisp and cold without having to do everything at the last minute.

But, I knew, a salad doesn’t have to be lettuce.

So I devised what turned out to be a delightful salad of fresh green beans and cherry tomatoes, accented with toasted pine nuts and dressed with a simple walnut and balsamic vinaigrette. I transported it to the party in a Ziploc plastic bag, already dressed so the walnut oil could soak into the other ingredients. It didn’t need to be served cold, so I emptied the bag into my favorite wooden salad bowl when I arrived, tossing together the ingredients and adding a little more dressing before serving.

The diners were at first slightly puzzled about this dish, but serving it in a salad bowl was the clue they needed about what it was. My bean salad was a hit, both for me to make and take as well as for those who helped themselves. But only 20 folks showed up, so because everyone else also brought dishes to serve 24, I had leftovers.

The real beauty of my improvised dish turned out to be the leftovers, which I heated for a vegetable side dish with dinner the next day. It was just as delicious — maybe even more so — the second time around. When I make it again, however, I’ll use toasted walnuts instead of the pine nuts to further accent the wonderful flavors of the walnut oil salad dressing.

Who knew that walnut and green bean flavors have such an affinity for each other?

These sweet vine-ripened red cherry tomatoes from NatureFresh Farms are a wonderful addition to green beans. (Janet Podolak)

The secret, if there is one, is to use only the best and freshest of ingredients. The mounds of green beans at my local Heinen’s store were obviously fresh and I used the vine-ripened and very candy-like red cherry tomatoes from NatureFresh Farms in Ontario. The pine nuts, while expensive, added a lovely crunch, made even better by toasting them in the oven for a few minutes before cooling them to add to the other ingredients.

I’ve reduced the amount of ingredients to serve six, so readers can have leftovers.

JANET’S GREEN BEAN TOMATO SALAD

5 cups fresh green beans

½ cup water

1 teaspoon salt

6 ounces of red cherry tomatoes

⅓ cup toasted pine nuts (or coarsely chopped toasted walnuts)

Two generous grinds of pepper

Walnut vinaigrette dressing 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and trim green beans, cutting the largest beans into thirds. Place beans in pan with salted water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 10 or 15 minutes, depending on the degree of doneness you like in your beans. If water boils away, add some more but keep it minimal since you want the beans to steam.

Meanwhile cut some of the cherry tomatoes in half, squeeze out and discard their seeds. Lightly salt. Leave the remainder whole.

Place pine nuts or walnut pieces on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place in preheated oven, setting timer for five minutes. Check nuts often because they can burn easily and you want them lightly toasted. Remove from oven and let cool.

Make the dressing. When beans are done, drain them and cool slightly. Toss in the tomatoes,  toasted nuts and dressing. Grind pepper over top. Serve warm or let cool to room temperature.

Reheat the mixture as leftovers and serve hot.

WALNUT VINAIGRETTE DRESSING

½ cup walnut oil (roasted walnut oil if you can find it)

⅓ cup good balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon maple syrup 

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme 

Puree ingredients with a whisk, in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Refrigerate in a sealed jar. Bring to room temperature for serving.