Green Bean Salad

Dear Mom,

Happy Mother’s Day! … Thank you for all of your yummy desserts!  You have been PERFECT all year! … Thank you for cooking most of our meals.  Some of them I don’t really like…  Love, Elizabeth

Now that’s gratitude for you – Elizabeth style.  I appreciate her honesty and maybe one of these days, she will like my food other than desserts.  Here’s a Jamie Deen recipe that she didn’t even try.  The rest of us enjoyed it though (which surprised me, I wasn’t anticipating that I would – it includes almost raw vegetables, you know).  I predict it will become a summer salad/picnic staple.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Ingredients  

Green Bean Salad

1. Kosher salt
2. 1 pound slender green beans (i.e., French green beans), ends trimmed
3. 1 cup feta cheese crumbles
4. 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
5. 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
6. 1/2 cup slivered almonds
7. 3 tablespoons olive oil
8. 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
9. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
10. 1 large clove garlic, minced
11. Freshly ground black pepper

Boil a large pot of salted water. Add the green beans and cook until tender crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove green beans and place in a bowl of ice water. Drain well, pat dry and place the beans in a large bowl. Combine with the feta cheese, tomatoes and red onions.

Toast the almonds in a small skillet, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a plate.

Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil, garlic and some salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the green beans and sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.