Fresh Green Bean, Tomato And Blue Cheese Salad

A fresh green bean, tomato and blue cheese salad is the ultimate summer side dish. Super easy to prepare with tender young green beans, sweet cherry tomatoes, your favorite blue cheese and tossed with a simple vinaigrette, it is sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next backyard barbecue.

This is the time of year when many of us have a garden full of vegetables ready to be picked or have a good farmer’s market nearby where we can buy fresh seasonal produce. The salad I’m sharing with you is one that my husband and I both enjoy. It makes the most of two of our favorite vegetables, sweet and juicy vine ripe heirloom cherry tomatoes and young tender green beans.

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The green beans and tomatoes are tossed with your favorite blue cheese, mine happens to be Gorgonzola as it is very creamy and mild, and a simple vinaigrette. What I like about this colorful salad is that all the components can be prepped in advance and assembled right before serving. Just the kind of salad or side dish we enjoy having on at hot summer day when we don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Fresh Geen Bean, Tomato And Blue Cheese Salad

Serves 2 to 4, adjust the recipe according

• 1 lb. small green beans, washed, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

• 1 dozen, more or less, cherry tomatoes

• salt for blanching the green beans

• 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

• 1 Tbsp. sherry wine vinegar

• 2 – 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese, I used Gorgonzola

Wash and trim off the ends of the green beans then cut into pieces about 1 inch in size. Add to a pot of salted, boiling water and cook until just tender. Transfer the beans with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep their bright green color. Drain and dry on paper towels, then place in a salad bowl. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place in a medium bowl, add salt to taste, toss and let sit for about ten minutes to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes. Lift out the tomatoes and add them to the green beans, retaining the accumulated tomato juice. Add the mustard, vinegar, olive oil and pepper to the tomato juice and whisk until emulsified. Taste for any additional seasoning, if needed. Pour the vinaigrette over the green beans and tomatoes, toss gently. Add the crumbled Gorgonzola to the salad and very gently toss then serve.

Cherry tomatoes work best in this salad, especially a combination of heirloom tomatoes for added color.

I personally like to use Gorgonzola cheese in this recipe as it happens to be one of the mildest blue cheeses and is very creamy.

If you don’t care for blue cheese, crumbed goat or feta cheese would make a nice substitution.

Make sure to toss the ingredients gently so that they don’t break apart.

I topped individual servings of salad with a small amount of micro greens as a garnish but that is optional.

If preparing the salad ahead of time, refrigerate the ingredients separately until ready to serve then toss with the vinaigrette. This way, the green beans will keep their vibrant green color..

Notes From The Kitchen

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When fresh summer produce is at it’s finest, it is nice to take advantage of the vegetables we love in a simple but delicious salad like this one. Young tender green beans and juicy, sweet tomatoes tossed with creamy blue cheese pair especially well with grilled steaks or barbecued chicken. I believe that this green bean and tomato salad would make the perfect addition to your family weeknight meal or to take to your next potluck dinner.