I have a question.
No, let me rephrase that…
I have a real silly question. Why is it that green beans are called… well, GREEN beans, whereas yellow beans are called WAX beans?
In French, we call them “Fèves vertes” and “Fèves jaunes”.
From what I understand, Green beans are even referred to, in the English language, as Haricots Verts. So why is it that wax beans aren’t known as Haricots Jaunes?
Why WAX? I don’t know, but wax just doesn’t sound appetizing to me, so I have a problem with that. Why give such a beautiful vegetable such a non-inspiring name?
To be honest, I always preferred wax beans to their green relative. I think they are prettier, and well, they taste better. But then again, maybe I find they taste better just because I think they’re prettier.
Anywho, you have to admit that their pretty yellow color worked wonderfully well with this particular salad. Green just wouldn’t have cut it.
You just HAVE to use the yellow, well, wax, hum… well, you know.
Not that it would change the taste all THAT much… It just makes it sooooo much prettier!
I got the inspiration for this dish from that Green Bean, Goat Cheese and Green Olive Salad, which I’ve enjoyed many many times since I discovered it. Only this time, I decided to add a few extra ingredients to it.
Alright, I admit. I had this HUGE bunch of dill and about 25 pounds of asparagus that I needed to use up! That sort of helped me get inspired some…
Hey, the dill was 69¢ and it was HUGE, seriously. I mean, I needed SOME of it to make my Trout Tartare, but I had way too much. And even if it only cost 69¢, I wasn’t gonna chuck it. No way!
As for the asparagus, well, they were 99¢ a pound, can you imagine? They ARE one of my favorite veggies after all, so when I see them going for so little money, I just HAVE to stock up!
It was a good thing, because this salad really was a winning combo. It’s fresh, crisp, tangy, super tasty, literally screams healthy… PERFECT summer salad, I tell you.
I can already see myself enjoying this one at a picnic, or by the lakeside while keeping an eye on my fishing rod… or even just sitting out in the yard, watching the flowers grow!
Now if only summer could get here!
Oh, hey, guys… I almost forgot! Have I got a teaser for you today!
Some of you might remember, a while back, I got challenged to recreate this super decadent flourless chocolate cake, but in a healthy version, of course.
Well, after 2 tries, I succeeded! All I can tell you at this point is OMG! This cake will literally throw you off your chair. I swear!
Just take a little peek for now… but just a little peek, eh?
We wouldn’t want to lose interest in that glorious wax bean salad, now would we?
Good! Fear not, my friends, the recipe is coming soon!
INGREDIENTS
- 450g wax beans, ends trimmed
- 300g asparagus, cut into thirds
- 2 small tomatoes, diced
- 16 large kalamata olives, pitted and quartered
- 60g walnuts, chopped
- 60g goat feta, crumbled
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 3-4 fresh sundried tomatoes
- 6 tbsp water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Bring about an inch of salted water to a boil in a pot into or on top of which your steamer basket or insert fits.
- Put beans and asparagus in the steamer basket, set over the boiling water, cover, and steam until tender to the bite, 3 to 5 minutes (depending on how crisp or tender you like them)
- Meanwhile, add all the ingredients for the dressing to your mini blender or food processor and blend until smooth and well combined. Set aside.
- As soon as beans and asparagus are ready, plunge them in a bowl of icy cold water to stop the cooking, then drain and divide them between two serving plates
- Top with tomatoes, then kalamata olives, feta cheese and finally, walnuts.
- Sprinkle a few sprigs of dill over the salad for garnish.
- Serve immediately with dressing on the side.
Mouth watering! What a perfect summer dish!
Thank you so much!
Beautiful looking salad! The dill sounds so yummy! I’ll be honest, I wonder about why they’re called wax beans too. Kind of strange, but oh well. I can’t wait for fresh beans whatever color they are
I’m very curious about that cake, it looks amazing!
Hi Sonia….SO glad you enjoyed the award : ). I can’t take credit for the award button, I found it when I Googled the Versatile Blogger Award so I could copy and paste the button image ; ). By the way, I love salads with kalamatas, sun dried tomatoes, and dijon! Funny, for dinner tonight I had a tuna salad with those same ingredients.
~Amanda
Oooooh! Tuna, kalamatas, sun dried tomatoes and Dijon! Must be absolutely fabulous. I will have to try that someday, for sure! Good on you for Googling the award. That badge sure is a nice find. I might very well use that one instead of the typical green one!
Thanks again for the nomination, that’s super nice of you! =D
This salad is 100% crave worthy!
As for the cake — eeeeeeeeeeeee I can’t wait!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, Nora… that cake! You just resumed it right there!
Oooo your new website looks gorgeous!! I hadn’t seen it yet but it’s wonderful! Green beans in Dutch are called spercie bonen and I have
No clue how we call those yellow ones. I’ve seen them around but they are rare. Now on the asparagus; how did you manage to get them for such a good price?? I love asparagus but they tend to be costly here.
YAY! Glad to hear you like the new look Simone! Thanks for complimenting on it!
Asparagus tend to be costly here also, that’s why when I see them go on sale for such a ridiculous price, I tend to stock up and buy so much that I have to eat nothing but asparagus for about a week! But hey, I’m not gonna complain! I just love them SOOOOO much!