Herbed Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad (Vegan, Paleo)

When the weather heats up this herbed green bean and cherry tomato salad makes a fresh and easy addition to any meal.

Some days only a salad will do.  As the thermostat rises my desire to turn on the oven or stand at the stove goes down and that’s when a salad is in order.  Fresh and easy with minimal preparation and little to no cooking involved, a salad is the ideal no-fuss meal for a hot summer day.

It could be as simple as a mix of lettuce leaves with a homemade dressing but a salad doesn’t always have to involve greens, in fact I often make mine without.  An all-vegetable, no-lettuce salad is the kind you’ll find most often at my table, like this green bean and cherry tomato salad.  Green beans and tomatoes are at their best right now and combined together they make a delicious summer salad.

Nothing beats a tomato salad when tomatoes are in season, and the addition of green beans, cucumbers and olives makes for a hearty and satisfying seasonal salad that’s a great addition to any summer menu. 

Because there are no lettuce leaves, you don’t need to worry about wilting or not dressing the salad ahead of time.  It keeps well at room temperature and leftovers are just as tasty.  It does involve a minimal amount of time at the stove, but just long enough to blanch the green beans, which only takes a minute or two; the rest is just a matter of assembly. 

How to make a green bean and cherry tomato salad:

First you quickly blanch the slenderest green beans you can get your hands on until just tender (we want them to still have a bit of bite and not flop).  Plunging the beans into a bowl of ice water after cooking will help to keep them firm and retain their bright green color.

Next is the vinaigrette. With so many fresh flavors, the last thing we’d want is to drown the vegetables in a heavy dressing so a simple red wine and olive oil vinaigrette punctuated with lots of fresh herbs like chives, parsley and basil is the answer.

Finally we halve some cherry tomatoes, chop some cucumbers and toss everything together with briny black olives.

Each resulting bite is full of vibrant tastes and textures. There’s the silkiness of the green beans, the crunch of the cucumbers, the juicy burst of the cherry tomatoes, the saltiness of the olives and the freshness of the herbs all combined to make I salad that I come back to over and over again this time of year.

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Yield: Serves 4

Herbed Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad (Vegan, Paleo)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 18 minutes

When the weather heats up this herbed green bean and cherry tomato salad makes a fresh and easy addition to any meal.

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Ingredients

• 1lb/454g green beans (preferably thin French haricot verts)
• ¼ cup/60ml extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup roughly torn Italian parsley, stems removed
• 2 Tablespoons roughly torn fresh basil leaves, stems removed
• 2 Tablespoons roughly snipped fresh chives
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon/15ml red wine vinegar
• 2 Persian cucumbers, seeded and chopped
• 8 oz/227g cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup/45g kalamata olives

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add green beans and cook until crisp-tender (about 3 minutes). Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water and let chill until cool. Drain, pat dry with clean towel, set aside in
   large bowl.
   
2. In a small food processor place together oil, herbs and salt and process until blended, add vinegar pulse again and set aside. 
   
3. Add chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes and olives to drained green beans and pour dressing over top. 
   Toss gently to combine and serve.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 213mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 5gSugar: 7gProtein: 4g

Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.

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Sylvie

Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she’s been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.