Recipe: Green Bean and Shallot Salad

This past week my husband put in 80 hours at work. Yeah, I don't know how he is functioning this week either. I am grateful for a hard working man but also with him being gone I accomplished a lot of little things. Little things include cleaning out our mail holder, reading a few extra blogs and catching up on my Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine. The magazine usually sits for a week or two before I get to crack it open.

In the new issue they included a few brunch recipes and different table decor options. The recipes ranged from a crispy potato cake and quiche to a sparkling grape cocktail and linzer cookies, which I am dying to make. Those cookies look amazing and very tasty! I did see one recipe that I knew would be perfect with our steak that would be grilled later that evening. I ventured to the grocery store and grabbed one handful of fresh green beans and three shallots. I had never cooked with shallots so I am beyond thrilled to give them a go. I may be the only one but new recipes make me excited. Ask my husband. It is a weird thrill when I get to skip through the store filling up our basket with new items and ingredients.

When we got back home I decided to get started on the green bean recipe because one thing about new recipes is I don't always know just how long it is going to take. I gathered my ingredients and realized that the recipe called for red wine vinegar when I only had balsamic. I substituted the two in hopes that the recipe would still taste good. It did!

Now before I get started on this I want to give everyone a BIG warning. The house we rent right now is amazing. We live in the Texas hill country. We have tons of yard. Our house is on top of a hill. Our view is incredible. Our back patio is homey. Our yard boasts all sorts of wildlife. Our house has so much space. Our house is old and fun. See all the good things about our current home? Well, when you strike out on a deal with a rent house in prime location you do have to take a few things that don't make you oh so happy. Case in point: our kitchen has orange counter tops. Orange? No I am not kidding, ORANGE. It is a lot to take in. We have been in this house almost a year and I still get shocked walking into the kitchen in the morning. With all this being said, the pictures for this recipe features the little beauty's.

Here is what you need:

Like I mentioned I did adapt this recipe quite a bit for our family. The original recipe serves 8 guests but we have a house of 2 so we cut back on things. We didn't use as much of some ingredients and also substituted the red wine vinegar to balsamic like I mentioned earlier.

Ingredients:

Ice Water
3 Shallots, peeled and chopped (original recipe says to do 3/4-inch thick rounds)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
A handful of green beans, trimmed (which is something I forgot to do)
1/2 tsp. paprika (the original recipe calls for sweet smoked paprika)
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
Salt
3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Let's get cooking:

1. Fill a large bowl with ice and water. This is to help shock the green beans once they have finished boiling.
2. Fill a large pot with warm water and salt and begin to boil on the stove top.
3. Trim those green beans and begin chopping the shallots. Once the shallots are chopped, place them in a bowl and add 2 tbsp. vinegar and toss. Refrigerate.

4. Once the water is boiling add the green beans and cook for 2-3 minutes. Once they are done, drain them in a colander. Transfer the drained green beans to the bowl of ice water. This helps the beans cool evenly.

5. Now it is time to make that tasty dressing for your beans. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining vinegar, paprika, mustard and worcestershire sauce. Throw in a pinch of salt and drizzle in 3 tbsp. of EVOO.

6. Drain the beans from their ice bath and pat them dry. Place the beans in a fun serving dish and add the shallots making sure to drain the liquid from the bowl first. Pour in the vinaigrette and toss together.

7. Serve and watch your guests, friends and family enjoy them!

This recipe is so easy and simple. It takes only about 30 minutes total to serve up a healthy and tasty new dish. Most of the ingredients you already have at home. I hope this tasty treat will be hitting your kitchen table sometime soon.

Friends, I hope you have a wonderful day and just remember tomorrow is Friday! Eeeek!