Tomato, Mozzarella and Green Bean Salad

Prepare the Dressing

Whisk together the vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Add the shallots and combine. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking vigorously to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.

Tomatoes - my sister-in-law used delicious, sweet tiny heirloom tomatoes. If you use a regular tomato, you'll need to core, seed, chop it. Patricia Wells says to peel the tomato too, but I'm not sure I would add that extra step to the process. Your choice.

Prepare the Tomatoes

If using a regular tomato, you want to drain all the liquid out of the tomatoes so place the cut up pieces into a fine-mesh sieve or colander and sprinkle with a little salt. Set them over a bowl to drain. Judy used the small but sweet grape tomatoes so she ignored this step and the salad was fine.

Blanch the Green Beans

Bring a large pot of water to boil. While the water is coming to a boil, wash and trim the ends of the beans. Then cut up the beans into 1-inch lengths. Don't forget to get the ice-cold water bath ready to quickly stop the cooking process after the beans are blanched. Just fill up another bowl with water and ice.

As soon as the water comes to a boil, add a couple of teaspoons of salt and then the beans. Bring back to a boil and cook until the beans are "crisp-tender". This should take about 5 minutes. Quickly drain the beans and place them into the ice cold water bath for a couple of minutes. Drain and dry them with a kitchen towel.

Dress the Salad

Put the beans in a serving bowl, add the oil and vinegar dressing and stir everything together. Now's good time to taste and adjust seasoning. Add the drained tomatoes, mozzarella, and cilantro and toss until well mixed.

Serve it up individually or family style in a big bowl.