Quick and Refreshing Lemon Green Bean Salad Side Dish

You can get crisp, tender vegetables on the table with barely any effort when you use a fast boiling method. A Quick and Refreshing Lemon Green Bean Salad Side Dish mixes blanched beans with fresh tomatoes, red onion, and a sharp mustard vinaigrette. The beans stay snappy when you boil them for exactly 60 seconds.

Mixing the dressing

The Lemon Mustard Dressing needs a quick shake in a container with a tight lid. This is the fastest way to force the olive oil and lemon juice to mix together. The Dijon mustard does more than add flavor to the liquid. It acts as a thickener to help the dressing cling to the vegetables.

Cooking the green beans

Start the main salad by heating a large pot of salted water to a full boil. Drop the trimmed beans into the water. Wait for the rolling boil to return, and then time the vegetables for exactly 60 seconds. Any longer will leave them soft and mushy instead of crisp and tender.

Drain the hot beans immediately. Move them straight into a bowl of ice water. The cold shock stops the cooking process right away. You can also run them under the cold tap in a pinch if you do not have ice on hand.

You must dry the cooked beans completely. Water left on the vegetables will push the dressing away. Let the cooled beans sit in a strainer until all the moisture evaporates. You can pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel to speed things up.

Assembling the salad

Stack the dry green beans on a wide serving platter. Scatter the diced tomato and red onion directly over the top of the pile.

Freshly chopped tomatoes add juice and a soft texture right next to the firm beans. You should chop the tomato right before you plan to eat. Prepping it too early makes the pieces soggy and ruins their texture. The chopped vegetables act like a sponge when you layer them over the beans. They catch the dressing and slowly drip it down through the rest of the salad.

Finish by drizzling the dressing evenly over the dish. Add an optional Salad Garnish of chopped parsley if you like.

Make-ahead storage

You can split the work up over a couple of days to save time before dinner.

• Mix the dressing up to two days in advance. Keep it in the refrigerator. Let it sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature before you use it.
• Boil, cool, and thoroughly dry the green beans one to two days ahead of time. Keep the dried vegetables in the refrigerator.
• Chop the red onion ahead of time and keep it in a sealed container.
• Leave the tomato whole until the very last minute.

Main dish pairings

This fresh salad matches nicely with Asian, Western, Mediterranean, and Indian cuisines, while also fitting right in with meals from Mexico or the Middle East. The natural acidity easily cuts through heavily spiced dishes like curries. You can plate these vegetables next to steak, baked pork chops, or meatloaf. They also make a wonderful side for a rich meat sauce, roasted whole chicken, chicken pieces cooked with garlic, or skillet-seared fish.