Green Bean salad with Kalamata Olives, Semi-dried Tomatoes & Feta
A fuss-free, no-cooking required, salad recipe by Olivia Cavalli, easy to throw together for summer lunch al fresco style, when you need to catch that sun light quickly before it slips away.
Ingredients
SERVES 4
500g green beans
½ red onion
70g pitted Big Kalamata Olives
70g Semi-dried Datterini Tomatoes
150g Odysea Feta
splash of Red Wine Vinegar + more for dressing
extra virgin olive oil
handful of basil leaves
handful of pine nuts, toasted
Instructions
Top and tail the green beans.
Bring a large pan of water to boil. When the pan is at a rolling boil, salt the water and put the beans in. Let them cook for 1-2 minutes, depending on their size.
While they cook, fill a large bowl with cold water and add plenty of ice. Drain the beans into a colander and immediately submerge in the ice bath. Let them sit in the cold water for a few minutes so they keep their crunch and colour. Drain and leave to dry.
Meanwhile, slice the onion very finely. Put the prepared onion in a bowl and cover with cold water and a splash of red wine vinegar. Let sit for 10-15 minutes while you carry on with the rest – this will soften their raw taste.
Halve the olives, roughly chop the sun dried tomatoes and crumble the feta. Drain the onion from the soaking liquid.
To assemble the salad, toss the green beans with the onion in a large mixing bowl. Dress with plenty of extra virgin olive oil and a glug of red wine vinegar and season with flakey salt. Tear in the basil, add the olives, tomatoes and feta and toss again. Taste for seasoning. Plate up and finish with the toasted pine nuts.