Needed to think of a quick side to bring over a friend’s house for dinner. Came up with this on the fly. I ended up liking it enough to make it again for a friend’s party the next day. Note: If you decide to buy purple beans that you see in Wegmans to add color to your dish, they will essentially change back to green when you blanch them, so it’s inherently pointless.
asparagus – about a batch, batch and a half
green beans – I probably did about 3:1 asparagus to beans
1 package grape tomatoes, halved
a bunch of mini fresh mozzarella balls, quartered
fresh basil, torn
1/2 an orange, zested and juiced
balsamic vinegar
good olive oil
salt and pepper
Boil a pot of water, and prepare another bowl of ice water next to it. When it’s boiling, drop your asparagus and green beans into it, cook about two minutes or until asparagus begins to get tender. Drain and plunge into ice bath. Drain again.
Add asparagus, beans, cheese, tomatoes and basil to bowl. In a cup, make your dressing – I used a ratio of about 2:1:1 of oil, orange juice and balsamic. Drizzle over your salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Haha, good to know, because whenever I see those purple ones, I think “Ooh, girlie colors!” and am tempted to buy them ..