Green Bean and Orange Salad

The grey days of February have me pining for green things. I want to see the leaves reappear on the trees and bulbs start to push their verdant stems through the soil. I know I will have to wait for the garden to cooperate with my wishes, especially since several inches of snow are still in my yard. So I decided to rely on my table to bring a fresh note to these dreary days. In searching for something green to eat, I found both green and orange.

Looking through the pages of a Bon Appétit from February 1989, I discovered a green bean and orange salad. I frequently make orange and avocado salads or platters with oranges, fennel, and olives in the winter, but hadn’t thought of using citrus with green beans. The combination intrigued me, and when I read that many components could be prepared and set aside ahead of time, I knew I had to try it.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper, a driving force in the American culinary world for many decades, developed the recipe for “The Weekend House Party Survival Guide” in this issue of Bon Appétit. It was part of a menu that included roasted chicken, vegetables with couscous, and a dessert of braised figs and ice cream.

Salad components

I started by preparing the oranges, removing the peel and pith and segmenting them into suprèmes (what one web site calls “fancy-pants segments”). Slicing the oranges over a bowl allows you to catch all the juice, which will later make the salad dressing more lively.

Next, I cooked the green beans briefly in boiling water, then shocked them in iced water. This step keeps the beans crisp and a bright emerald color.

While Kasper used slices of red onion in her salad, I decided that a milder, smaller shallot would be my choice. I adapted her suggestion of soaking the slices of the bulb in straight vinegar to a mixture that was two parts water to one part vinegar. This technique mellowed the raw shallot nicely.

I also opted to use only lettuce leaves instead of a mixture of lettuce and Napa cabbage. The crunch of the fresh lettuce seemed enough to me.

Finishing the salad

When it came to the dressing, I changed proportions a bit. Kasper’s dressing called for a lot of brown sugar, which I worried would mask the bright flavor of the oranges. Instead, I used a small amount of agave syrup.

I kept Kasper’s suggested addition of fresh mint and cilantro leaves to the finished salad. My first bite of this new dish showed me how each herb brought a bit of brilliance to the mixture. They worked in harmony with the variety of textures and flavors—firm green beans, crunchy lettuce, sweet oranges and slightly pickled shallot.

While I used navels for my green bean and orange salad, the rosy flesh of Cara Cara oranges or the ruby color of blood oranges would also be lovely here.

I’m glad that orange met green on our winter table. They will be invited back again and again.

Green Bean and Orange Salad

Dawn Dobie

Citrus and green beans combine to make a bright, inviting salad

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Shallot soaking time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup neutral vegetable oil --I used canola
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon coarse-grain Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon agave syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil crumbled
• 1/4 garlic clove minced or mashed through garlic press
• orange juice drained from segments before assembling salad

Salad components:

• 1 large shallot peeled and thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 navel oranges segmented into suprèmes (see directions below)
• 8-12 ounces fresh green beans ends trimmed
• salt
• 4 cups torn green lettuce leaves
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh mint leaves
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

 

For dressing:

• Mix all ingredients except orange juice in a measuring cup or small bowl and whisk to combine.  Set aside.
• Right before serving, add orange juice that has accumulated in bowl of orange segments to dressing. Whisk again.

Salad components:

• Combine 2/3 cup water and 1/3 cup cider vinegar in small bowl. Add shallot slices to bowl, separating rings. Allow shallot rings to remain in vinegar solution for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove peel and white pith from outside of oranges, using a sharp knife.  Over a medium bowl, cut the oranges between their membranes, freeing the segments.  Let any juice that falls accumulate in the bowl and place segments in bowl as they are done.
• Fill large bowl with a combination of water and ice cubes. Set aside.
• Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium pan over high heat. Add 1-2 teaspoons of salt to water, then add beans. Boil for 4-5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Drain water from beans and transfer beans to bowl of iced water. When cool, drain again and pat dry.

To assemble salad:

• Drain shallots, discarding vinegar mixture.
• Drain juice from oranges, adding to dressing. Put orange segments aside.
• Place lettuce leaves on plate. Arrange green beans, orange segments, and shallot slices over lettuce.
• Tear leaves from mint and cilantro stems into small pieces and shower over plate.
• Drizzle 2/3 of dressing over salad and serve, passing any extra dressing around table.

Notes

Green beans, orange segments, and soaking shallots can be prepared up to one day ahead. Cover each and store separately in the refrigerator.
Adapted from a recipe by Lynne Rossetto Kasper in Bon Appétit (Feb 1989).