Green Bean Salad with Fried Almonds
Deb Perelman, founder of the award-winning blog Smitten Kitchen, says she became a green bean fiend in 2008. She began remembering which restaurants cooked beans perfectly each time and attempted to duplicate those dishes at home. These days, Deb cooks a pound of green beans at least once a week, and she and her family eat them with nothing but a sprinkle of sea salt on top. And at least once a week she forces them to order takeout from a restaurant just because they make a great green bean salad.
This recipe is her version of a salad she ate at the now-closed New York City restaurant Porsena: green beans, lightly pickled red onions, thinly shaved fennel, slivers of celery and almonds that were so well toasted their insides were the color of coffee. If you’re someone who dislikes celery or fennel, Deb hopes you’ll try it here because they’re just supporting actors in a greater cause—a crunchy bright salad that makes a wonderful side dish for Thanksgiving and other holiday gatherings.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 fennel bulb (about 1/2 lb./250 g)
- 1 celery stalk, trimmed
- 1/2 medium red onion
- 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) water
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 lb. (500 g) green beans or haricots verts (skinny ones)
- 2 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1/3 cup (about 2 oz./60 g) whole almonds
Directions:
If you have an adjustable blade slicer, it's time to make it earn its keep! Very thinly slice the fennel bulb, celery and onion. If you don’t have a fancy slicer, thinly slice them with a knife. In a small bowl, toss the fennel with the lemon juice to prevent browning and also because it makes it extra delicious.
In another small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, water, sugar and 1 Tbs. salt (if using Diamond brand kosher salt; use less for Morton kosher salt or table salt). Add the onion and set aside for about an hour. If you don’t have an hour, 30 minutes will still pickle the onion to deliciousness but it will only get better with age.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Trim and tail the green beans; this can be done with kitchen shears, a real time-saver. Boil the beans until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes for regular green beans and about 3 minutes for skinny ones (aka haricots verts). Plunge the beans in an ice water bath, then drain and pat dry. (If you have no patience for the precision of ice water baths, take the green beans out a full minute early as they will continue cooking as they cool.)
Heat a small heavy fry pan over medium heat and add 1 tsp. olive oil. Add the almonds and toss until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Transfer the almonds to a plate and let them cool, then cut each almond in half or into thirds.
To assemble the salad, in a large bowl, toss the green beans with most of the fennel, all of the celery and half of the pickled onion. Sprinkle 2 Tbs. of the red onion pickling liquid and 2 Tbs. olive oil over the mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning and ingredient levels to your preferences, adding more fennel, pickled onion and pickling liquid as desired, then serve. Serves 2 to 4.
Recipe courtesy of Deb Perelman, cookbook author and founder of Smitten Kitchen
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