Older Bolder Life

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green beans

the Older Bolder Life Salad Wednesday: Primal Green Bean Nicoise Salad with Tuna and Crispy Sweet Potatoes

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Like many of you, we’re always on the search for new and interesting salads, slaws, and other ways to enjoy lots of colorful, healthy, and tasty vegetables.

Here’s a nifty primal / paleo spin on a classic, what we’re now calling our Primal Green Bean Nicoise Salad with Tuna and Crispy Sweet Potatoes. The sweet potatoes are subbed in for the baby russets or red potatoes in the classic version, and you’ll use eggs from pastured chickens, healthy oil in the dressing, add a burst of lemon, fresh dill, and radishes (use several varieties for interest, taste, and color). It’s also a piece of cake to crumble some wild caught canned tuna onto this one to up the protein component and add some wonderful flavor to the dish, though you don’t absolutely have to have it.

Three quick thoughts on this recipe: One, consider prepping and cooking the sweet potatoes, eggs, and green beans ahead of time; then chill and hold (separately) in the fridge until ready to put the salad together. This recipe at first glance seems a bit complicated, but in reality, it’s really not at all, and by following the sequence I’ve laid it, it flows very well. Doing a little cooking ahead will just shorten your assembly time later in the day.

Two, the dressing is outrageously good, consider making a double recipe and holding for other salads this week. And three, the crispy capers (pictured below) sounded a little fussy to me at first, though they’re incredibly simple to prepare, and really add a nifty taste and texture element to this one.

My lovely wife enjoyed this one so much, she’s insisting it become a standard in our summer rotation…

1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1-inch thick slices
4-5 pastured eggs
1 and 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and washed

For the dressing
1 medium shallot, trimmed, and minced
3 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp + 1 tsp good Dijon mustard
2 tsp honey or maple syrup
2 tsp fresh lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/4 tsp good salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil)

To finish the salad
1-2 bunches breakfast (or other) radishes, trimmed, larger ones quartered
1/2 cup or more Nicoise or Kalamata olives, pitted, halved if large
1/4 cup capers, drained, crisped in pan (see below)
1-2 cans wild caught tuna, drained, crumbled
1 tbsp (or more) fresh dill, chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; prep the sweet potato and greens beans while waiting.

Parboil the sweet potato slices for 10-12 minutes until a fork penetrates easily; remove from the water, drain, and cut into medium dice when cool enough to handle. Sauté in butter, avocado, or olive oil until edges are crispy and browned, then set aside to cool (when cool hold in fridge).

When the sweet potato comes out, drop the eggs into the boiling water and boil for eight minutes for perfectly jammy yolks (or longer to suit you); when done, drop into an ice-water bath, then peel when cool.

When the eggs come out, bring the water back to a full boil, then cook the green beans 2-4 minutes until bright green and crisp-tender; remove immediately to an ice-water bath, chill for 5-7 minutes, drain, and pat dry.

If you haven’t during the cooking sequence above, whisk the dressing ingredients together, save for the olive oil, which is poured slowly in a steady stream while whisking away. Set aside in the fridge.

If using the crispy capers, and you should, pat the capers dry, then sauté in 2 tbsp of the oil of your choice over moderate heat until they being pop and get brown and crispy. Set aside.

To assemble the salad, begin by drizzling roughly 1/3 of the dressing over the green beans in a large bowl, toss to coat, then arrange on a large platter. Repeat with the potato pieces and then the radishes, using 1 tbsp of dressing for each in the same bowl you tossed the green beans in, and arranging each artfully on the platter.

Quarter the eggs; place the eggs and the olives on the green bean bed, then place the tuna as well . Now drizzle the salad with the remaining dressing, top with the crispy capers, and finally the remaining fresh dill.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 2 January: Fasolakia (Greek-Style Green Beans)

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I’m almost ashamed to admit that my lovely wife and I had never truly tasted genuine Fasolakia (Greek-style green beans) until a couple of years ago, at a then newly discovered wonderful little family-owned Greek place in a nearby town.

The tender green beans, coated with a rich, tomatoey, and well-spiced sauce became a favorite and often were part of a Greek gyro salad dinner for us in the months following our discovery. The restaurant is owned and managed by a charming Greek immigrant in his late 70s; he’s working every single day we venture in, and always welcoming and chatty.

I finally pestered him for the spices used in their version of this dish, and he rattled off the list below, including the admonition to use “lots of garlic and oregano”, and to not forget the spritz of fresh lemon juice at the end.

We also follow his technique of simmering for 15 minutes on the stovetop and then braising in the oven to finish, though you’ll find lots of recipes that complete the entire process on the stovetop. And while we most often prefer to use fresh vegetables, this is one recipe where frozen green beans work like a charm.

1.5 lb fresh green beans, or bout 8 cups frozen green beans (2 small bags)
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp avocado oil or EVOO
1 medium onion, trimmed, grated
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 and 1/2 tbsp good dried oregano (maybe a bit more)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 14.5-ounce cans organic diced tomatoes
3 tbsp organic tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Good salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
Optional: 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves

Preheat your trusty oven to 300.

Heat 1/4 cup of your oil of choice in a dutch oven or oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat; add the onion (and any onion juice that’s collected while grating). Sauté for 5-6 minutes until the onion has softened and is just beginning to color and the liquid has reduced a bit.

Sprinkle in the dried oregano, cumin, and the garlic, sauté for another minute or so, then add the green beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, along with at least a teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook (uncovered) for 15 minutes, stirring several times. Now cover and pop into the oven for another 30-40 minutes (check halfway through to see if you need to a little water). When the beans are tender, stir in at least another tbsp of oil, 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, and the parsley. Adjust seasonings and serve hot.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 4 July: Grill-Charred Green Beans with Homemade Harissa

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We have a friend down in Austin, an uber-talented chef by the name of Libby (she runs a very popular catering business down there); we actually met Libby one summer given the confluence of a couple of passions we share: cooking great food and fly fishing.

Libby bestows on we mere mortals great recipes now and again – like this Grill Charred Green Beans with Homemade Harissa she sent us a few years back.

We happen to share another passion with Libby, that being a love of interesting and spicy foods from other cultures; this quick and easy riff on harissa paste that you can whip up at home quite easily is a great example.

Green beans are a great side year round and this has become one of our favorite preps; seemingly everybody we’ve ever served it to has pestered us for the recipe.

And if you don’t have a grill basket yet, this recipe may be the very excuse you need to pick one up…

1 medium red bell pepper
3 medium Fresno chiles
1 medium jalapeno chile
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 + 2 tbsp good olive or avocado oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin (or more)
1/2 tsp ground coriander (or more)
Good salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

2 lb fresh green beans, tipped and trimmed

Start by roasting/charring the peppers on the grill, under the broiler, or over a gas flame until soft and charred. Throw the peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let them steam for 12-15 minutes.

When they’ve steamed, peel off the charred skins, stem and seed, then chop coarsely and drop into your trusty food processor along with the minced garlic, and 1 tsp salt. Pulse into a coarse paste and scrape down the bowl.

Now add the the oil, lemon juice, coriander, and cumin until smooth; season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Toss the trimmed beans into a bowl, drizzle with the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and stir to coat all the beans. We like to now grill (in a grill basket) over fire on the grill, though you can also char in a cast-iron skillet (or other heavy skillet) on the stove top. The objective is to grill the beans, picking up some char and blistering, until they’re perfectly crisp-tender.

When the beans are done, toss them back in the bowl you drizzled them with oil in, drizzle the harissa over and mix well. These are great warm or at room temperature too.

Enjoy.