Tomato, Mozzarella and Green Bean Salad
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
For the Dressing
For the Salad
- ½ pound tomatoes
- sea salt
- 1 pound green beans tender
- 1 egg fresh mozzarella cheese cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Instructions
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.
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.
Notes
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.