String Beans with Toasted Almond, Shallot & Olive Oil

When I start seeing local beans I immediately start dreaming of this quick simple salad. Beans with toasted almonds, shallot & olive oil. I more often make it with green beans but this time yellow. Blanch beans and toss with olive oil, thinly sliced or minced shallot, and toasted chopped almonds. Season with salt and pepper and that's it! Just make sure not to overcook your beans. I did that once and it's not delicious. They gotta have a snap to them.
I like this salad best as part of a spread so I can have different tastes of all the things. It has a strong bite from the shallot so I like to break it up with other flavours. I had it with tabbouleh and a few other odds and ends and twas delightful.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs yellow or green beans, blanched
  
• 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 or 3 shallots, minced or thinly sliced
  
• 3/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
  
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. To blanch beans just bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add your beans to the water, cover with a lid just to bring back to a boil. Make sure you don't over cook them. You want them to still have a tender bite. No soggy beans here. I just try a couple during the cooking process. A good tip is to watch the colour though, it will brighten when they are ready. Have a bowl of ice water ready. When beans are at desired doneness, strain and then shock them in ice water to stop the cooking process. 
2. Dry well, transfer to a clean bowl and toss with olive oil, shallots, toasted almonds & s+p to taste. 
   

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