Slow-Cooked String Beans with Tomato and Onion

These days most people eat their vegetables on the crunchy side. If not entirely raw, they're usually minimally cooked. While some vegetables are certainly best when they're cooked lightly, other vegetables can withstand longer cooking, and string beans are one of those vegetables. In fact, string beans are so versatile you find them in salads, soups, and stews; and of course as a side dish.

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare string beans as a side dish. The lovely Blue Lake beans that were in our box today are delicious prepared this way. It's also a great way to use the tougher wide beans that are best well-cooked.

2-3 T olive oil
1 medium red or brown onion
1 lb string beans
1 C chopped red tomato
1 T dried oregano or 2 T chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet with a lid.

2. Cut onion in half lengthwise and the cut lengthwise into strips. Add to skill and saute, stirring periodically, until translucent.

3. Trim the ends off the string beans and pull off any tough strings, but leave beans whole. Add beans to skillet and stir to coat with oil. Cook over medium-low heat, partially covered for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow both the onions and the beans to get a little browned.

4. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and chopped oregano. Continue cooking, uncovered, until most of the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated, usually another 5-10 minutes.

5. Turn heat down. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: Yellow zucchini, bi-color corn, raspberries, eggplant, Hungarian bell pepper, red and green leaf lettuce, Blue Lake beans, Texas sweet onion, and chard.

From Sage Mountain Farm: yellow patty pan squash, cucumbers, Easter Egg radishes, Chantennay carrots, green scallions, and collard greens.

From Sweet Tree Farms: white nectarines, pluots, and heirloom tomatoes.

And from Silver Lake Farms: arugula, cilantro and mustard microgreens.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Salade Nicoise

What a bountiful week!

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:

Navel oranges
Avocados
Daikon radish
Red radishes
Red & golden beets
Curly green kale (pictured below)
Green chard
Tat soi
Arugula
Romaine lettuce
Dandelion greens
Tomatoes
Squash blossoms
Mixed herbs

And here's what Tara and Danielle brought down from McGrath Family Farm, certified organic growers in Camarillo:

Carrots
Forono beets
Black kale
Red chard
Spring onions (that's what Danielle is holding below)
Sweet corn
Baby arugula
Mixed greens
Green string beans
Strawberries

When I saw the beautiful strings beans at the CSA pick-up this week, I thought Salade Nicoise. I learned to make Salade Nicoise in 1977 in a class on the regional foods and wines of France. In that class, our Salade Nicoise was built on a base of blanched string beans, boiled potatoes, and butter lettuce. It also had oil-packed, canned tuna, anchovies, olives, red onion, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh parsley all in a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Since then, I've enhanced my recipe with the addition of capers, fresh basil, and lemon juice; and I've embraced the California version using fresh, seared Ahi tuna, at least some of the time.

Over the years, I've eaten many Nicoise salads and I've seen other ingredients included such as fresh or roasted red peppers; mixed greens, especially arugula, instead of or in addition to butter lettuce; and balsamic vinegar dressings.

Here's a nice blueprint for this lovely composed salad. Don't sweat it if you don't have (or don't like) all the ingredients, it's a wonderful full-meal salad however you make it.

Salade Nicoise

Serves 2

2 C loosely packed butter lettuce or mixed greens
1/4 lb small or thin string beans, blanched and cooled
4 smallish new potatoes, boiled until just tender and cooled
1 can oil-packed tuna
1 medium tomato,sliced lengthwise into 6-8 sections
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
1-2 T thinly sliced red onion
8-10 black Nicoise olives, or more to taste
4 canned anchovy fillets, or more to taste
1 T capers, or more to taste
1 T chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 T chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

For the Dressing:
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T wine or cider vinegar
1 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste
1-2 t prepared Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

1. Briskly mix together all the ingredients for the dressing until emulsified. Set aside.

2. Wash and dry the lettuces and/or greens. Break into bite-sized pieces. Toss with 1-2 T of the dressing. Arrange dressed greens on 2 plates.

3. Toss the blanched string beans with 1 t of the dressing and arrange half the beans in a small stack on each plate.

4. Slice the potatoes and fan out half the slices on each plate. Drizzle with a few drops of dressing.

5. Drain and flake the tuna. Divide among the 2 plates.

6. Arrange half the tomato sections and one quartered hard-boiled egg on each of the 2 plates.

7. Scatter the finely sliced onion, olives, and capers among the 2 plates. Drape 2 anchovy fillets on each plate. Sprinkle with the chopped herbs, salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with the remaining dressing.

If you don't have Nicoise olives, you can substitute Kalamata olives or dried black olives. If you like your salads more heavily dressed, double the dressing recipe.

Enjoy!

Shelley