Author Notes: This salad is best served as a side dish to a main course. It is especially good with grilled fish, steaks, or roasted chicken. – Jennifer Ann —Jennifer Ann
Food52 Review: Jennifer Ann’s green bean salad is refined and elegant enough to please the most devoted Francophile, but it’s far from pretentious. The ingredient list is a study in green (beans, zucchini, tarragon, capers, green peppercorns, olive oil), and the fresh, herbal crunchiness of the resulting salad is a lovely expression of the color itself. A dab of mayo tames the assertiveness of some of the supporting ingredients, rendering the dressed vegetables velvety and zippy at the same time. The combination of tarragon and capers make this a great accompaniment for salmon or other fish. – A&M —The Editors
Serves: 4
Ingredients
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1/2
pound French green beans, stems removed
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1
small green zucchini (about 6-8 oz.), julienned lengthwise then cut in half
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2
teaspoons white wine vinegar
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4
teaspoons olive oil
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1
tablespoon mayonnaise
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1
pinch flaky sea salt, more to taste
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1
tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
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1/2
teaspoon green peppercorns, finely crushed (more to taste)
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1
teaspoon capers, rinsed and chopped, more to taste
Directions
- Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil on the stove, drop in beans for 1-2 minutes until bright green but still very crisp; drain and soak in an ice water bath to stop them from cooking further; when cool enough to handle, cut in half and add to bowl with the zucchini.
- For the dressing, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, mayonnaise, and a couple pinches of salt; stir in tarragon and peppercorns, reserving a small bit of each for garnish.
- Add enough dressing to the beans and zucchini to lightly coat; stir in capers; transfer to serving bowl and top with a few sprigs of tarragon and a light dusting of pepper.
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It's easy to snap the ends of tender young haricots verts.
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Mayo and olive oil make a lushy, silky base for the dressing.
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This recipe calls for raw zucchini, which was something new — and great — for us.
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A particularly lovely tarragon sprig.
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We ended cutting the zucchini roughly the same size as the beans.
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Merrill checks the heat — plenty of salt and a vigorous boil ensure crisp, vibrant green beans.
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Jennifer Ann calls for green peppercorns (dried, not fresh), which have beautiful papery skins and a heat that sneaks up on you.
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The beans take barely more than a minute — make sure not to overcook them!
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Shocking them in ice water stops the cooking immediately, making for a crunchy salad.
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It was almost a shame to chop up those beautiful tarragon leaves.
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But they look so gorgeous flecking the dressing!
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Halved beans are much easier to get your mouth around.
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Amanda pours the dressing over the beans and zucchini.
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She attempted to fold everything gently together, but the dressing leapt out of the bowl and attacked her pretty pink top. (We managed to rescue it with a very wet towel.)
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