Grüne Bohnensalat

Ingredients:
1 lb. of Green beans
1/ 4 cup crushed almonds

Dressing:
1 /4 cup Olive oil
1/ 4 cup water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons nice German mustard

Fresh dill or dried dill weed
Salt
Pepper

 

This is a simple salad whose character depends almost soley on the fresh flavor of Green Beans

A simple vinaigrette dressing is all that is needed and some simple toppings to make this a sure fire winner for any meal or buffet.
Just blanch the green beans

 

1. Blanch the green beans in salted water for a few minutes.
Take one out to check to see if it is "cooked enough to eat" but still crisp.
You can take off the stems before or after you blanch the green beans.

 

2. Drain the green beans and "Shock" them, which means run cool water immediately
over them to stop the cooking. This will keep them nice and green as well. Pull off the
stems and place in a mixing bowl.

3. Toast the almonds in a non stick skillet. I heat the skillet till it is very warm and then turn it off.
Put the crushed almonds in the skillet and stir them a bit till they lightly brown and you smell the nice nutty flavor. Turning the skillet off first avoids burning the almonds which is very easy to do if you have constant heat on them.

4. Just before you serve the salad toss the beans with the dressing and place on a serving platter.
Top with the toasted almonds. Some like to add the dressing ahead of time to marinate but this will discolor the green beans. The green beans are a great flavor all on their own. The dressing is just a nice accent as are the almonds.