Four-Bean Salad with Green Romesco by Alison Roman

I had several plans to make this bean salad throughout the course of this past summer. Every time I went to make it, something distracted me or set me on a different course. Maybe I couldn’t find a can of butter beans in the store that day. Maybe that gathering we were supposed to attend got canceled. Maybe the last thing I felt like doing was pulling out my food processor. This salad is, no doubt, a dish meant for the summertime — warmer weather, perhaps an outdoor setting to eat it in. But I finally found myself, in the middle of snowy January making a four bean salad for a group of people in need of some summertime cheer. 

I threw together this salad on Wednesday night. I started by rinsing and draining the three canned bean varieties: butter, cannellini, and black eyed. I try to drain beans as far in advance of using them as I can so they don’t bring extra water/moisture with them. Though a bit harder to find, particularly the black eyed and butter beans, this combination works really well together — especially with their different sizes. 

While the beans dried out, I put together the romesco in my food processor, which eliminated much of the required chopping. I first wrote about this romesco when I made Alison’s Crispy Skinned Salmon (a top recipe from the project). Last time, I used almonds. This time, I tried walnuts, and didn’t notice a major difference. 

I then cut up the fresh green beans and lemon slices and tossed them in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with salt and pepper. Using the bottom of my non-stick skillet, I set about bruising the beans and lemons by whacking the skillet over them with force (but not too much — last time I used this method for a recipe, the bag broke and it made a whole mess.) I didn’t aim for mashed beans, but mildly dented. 

I tossed all of these ingredients together with more lemon juice, salt, pepper, and dill, and put the bowl in the fridge. 

On Thursday, January 13, my parents, two siblings, and husband, gathered in the cold to commemorate my grandmother’s beautiful life by her graveside. She lived 93 years packed with authentic joy, weathered loss, and radical authenticity. I loved my grandmother so much. She was and still will be a lifelong role model for me. Her funeral was an intimate and meaningful time of sharing stories and remembering her life. We went to lunch at her favorite restaurant afterward and I ordered salmon, just like she always did. 

That night, my family came to my apartment to unwind from the long, emotional day. I served them this salad. It was perfect. They each remarked how fresh and lemony it tasted. They liked the crunchy texture of the beans and pops of dill. Each person dressed it up differently, adding Cholula or tortilla chips or feta cheese. The bowl was pretty much gone by the end of the night. I’m glad I inadvertently waited so long to make this salad. 

211 recipes cooked, 14 to go.

Spiced Black Lentil Salad with Oil-Packed Tuna, Radishes, and (Purple) Potatoes

The idea of a nicoise salad has never appealed to me. Primarily because of the oil-packed tuna element. I can tolerate tuna on toasted sourdough, but beyond that, the concept of canned fish makes me squirm. The other parts of a classic nicoise, I like, though I wouldn’t normally pair them together for a casual lunch dish: steamed potatoes, runny eggs, blanced green beans, and some form of grain. Each a lovely idea, but not all together. 

However, since I had made Alison’s Spiced Lentils the day before, and I’d prefer not to make them twice, I chose to save them for this salad. Call it Lentil Maximization. (To learn more about these lentils, and for the final installation of Annie’s Lentil Storytime, click here.

I had lots of green beans, potatoes, and eggs on hand this day, so I made two servings of the salad, one for me and one for Jordan. We were both working from home. It took me approximately 20 minutes to make the meal, which was just enough time between two meetings to whip something up. (If I hadn’t already prepped the lentils, it would have taken much longer.) 

To maximize the pot of boiling water on my stove, I chose to boil the potatoes, blanch the green beans, and cook the eggs all at the same time. I just took them out at different intervals. Any chance I get to do less dishes, I’ll take it. Especially at lunchtime. I’m much more willing to take on dinner dishes than I am lunch dishes. It’s a principle of mine. 

I was most worried about the tuna tasting too fishy, but was pleasantly surprised by the Trader Joe’s brand of oil-packed tuna. Though I still can’t say I enjoyed the tuna (because it’s tuna), I can say that I wasn’t fished out when eating it, which is a win. 

Jordan enjoyed the salad. I’d say I mostly did too -- I’m a sucker for vegetables tossed in lemon juice, salt and pepper. I personally won’t make this particular salad again, but I wholeheartedly recommend making it if you’re a fan of nicoise salads. If nicoise is what you seek, then a fresh, lemony, herbal and light nicoise is what you’ll find here. 

154 recipes cooked, 71 to go.

Blistered Green Beans with Creamy Tahini and Fresh Hot Sauce by Alison Roman

Green beans are notorious (in my mind at least) for being exceptionally boring vegetables. Like asparagus, they’re easy to overcook. We’ve all eaten cafeteria green beans – limp, soggy strands of yellowish green mush, and we’ve all regretted those experiences entirely. While I hope to never allow my green beans to get to that level of devastation, I must confess that I’ve made some disappointments. 

Blistered green beans are anything but a disappointment. To blister green beans, toss them in a bit of vegetable oil with salt and pepper before sauteing them in a cast iron skillet over HIGH heat. It took only 7 minutes for my beans to show a light charring and turn a bright green color. By utilizing high heat for a short time, the beans retained their fresh, snap-like quality and firm structure, while still heating through completely. It was the easiest and most rewarding way of cooking green beans I’ve yet to encounter. Much like Alison’s Perfect Asparagus method, I will turn to the blistering method for green beans moving forward. 

Beyond the exceptional cooking method, there are several other elements in this dish that elevate the beans. The first involves toasted hazelnuts, which, by now, you know that I completely ignored. I could have used toasted pistachios but I had neither the time nor the interest. The fresh hot “sauce” comprises distilled vinegar, half a jalapeno, garlic, salt, and sugar. It’s best to combine these ingredients first so the jalapeno has some time to pickle in the vinegar. 

Finally, the creamy tahini, a mixture of labne (or yogurt), tahini, and lemon juice, provides an interesting foundation and kind of dipping sauce for the plate of blistered beans. The beans and hot sauce get tossed together before sitting in the tahini. 

Bright, fresh, tangy, slightly spicy, creamy, crunchy are some of the fun adjectives that describe this dish. Words that I never before would have associated with green beans. Life is full of pleasant surprises. 

94 recipes cooked, 131 to go.

Mustardy Green Beans with Anchovyed Walnuts by Alison Roman

I’ll admit I was skeptical about anchovyed walnuts. I wasn’t in the mood for fishy nuts as I started my dinner prep. To be honest, anchovyed anything never sounds appealing to me. And yet, I thoroughly enjoy eating anchovyed foods 9 out of 10 times they’re on my plate. So, it was past experience that pushed me to follow through with Alison’s instructions, not my appetite. 

And like most of my prior experience, these anchovyed walnuts were delicious. In a pot filled with a ¼ cup of olive oil, toast a cup of coarsely chopped walnuts until fragrant and golden. Remove from heat, and swirl in anchovies and grated garlic until the anchovies have melted and disappeared. Set them aside for later, and also snack on them while you make the rest of dinner. They’re just as nice on their own, and they’re not too fishy. 

We eat oven-roasted green beans, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, about every 1-2 weeks here, so preparing the beans was a simple repetition for me. Alison has you throw in some thinly sliced lemon pieces, another standard addition in my kitchen. While everything gets lightly charred in the oven, prepare a simple dressing made of whole grain mustard, white wine vinegar and olive oil. When the beans are done, they get tossed in this tangy vinaigrette. 

The last step is to plate the saucy lemon and beans and sprinkle with whatever walnuts are left, post-snacking. The whole dish is bursting with my kind of flavor palette (I LOVE anything that boasts salt and vinegar). And the toasty walnuts are a nice textural contrast to the beans and charred lemon. While I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to make beans like this all the time, I do think I’ll start to go this route more often when I’m up to the extra steps. The reward is certainly worth it.

63 recipes cooked, 162 to go.

Harissa-Braised Green Beans with Herbs by Alison Roman

Harissa? I hardly know her! 

But really, this was our first time meeting. For all the praise I’d heard about this tomato-chile paste over the years, it took me until now to summon the courage to look her in the eye. To be honest, I was afraid of her being too spicy. Packing heat is harissa’s reputation after all. But when I saw this recipe, I thought that maybe using harissa to add the heat to an otherwise middle-of-the-road vegetable seemed like the right kind of first date. 

(I realize that I frequently talk about food/ingredients as if they’re people. Should I be concerned? Is this a normal progression?)  

To begin, harissa paste and several garlic cloves are sauteed at the bottom of a large pot, until the harissa begins to caramelize. Then a large tomato, quartered, is added and cooked until it begins to break down. I found that this step took longer than outlined in the instructions, which I’m guessing is due to the size of the tomato chunks. Next time I’ll cut the tomato into eighths to speed up this process. 

A bit of white wine comes in next to deglaze the bottom of the pot. I chose a cheap Sauvignon Blanc (Trader Joe’s Coastal brand), and served it with dinner as well. As far as cheap whites go, this one is quite nice! Finally, the green beans are tossed and coated with the spicy tomato mixture and cooked over medium-low with the lid on to steam them. The goal here is to cook the beans until they are “delightfully softened but not yet mushy.” 

In true Alison fashion, the beans are tossed with a cup of fresh herbs, a half cup of chopped chives, and lemon zest. 

After cooking it down, the harissa paste added a nice amount of heat without overpowering the dish. It made me wish that we’d met sooner. I think this dish is a really nice way to eat green beans. I’m used to roasting them with olive oil and lemon juice, so this was a welcomed change. 

32 recipes cooked, 193 to go.

These green beans go really well with Alison’s Slow Roasted Oregano Chicken with Buttered Tomatoes. In fact, almost anything goes well with that chicken.