Green Bean, Cherry Tomato, and Cucumber Salad

The evening I brought home my CSA farm box I made this salad and all the vegetables, minus the shallot, were fresh out of the box, and may have been picked as recently as that morning. It was so quick and satisfying with just a tad of vinaigrette, 

but if you add a bit of feta. . . 

it's just that much better. I made the salad a meal by including a soft boiled egg and a fat slice of whole grain toast. The salad also keeps well as I had leftovers for two days and the salad still tasted great.

Green Bean, Cherry Tomato, and Cucumber Salad

Serves 2 as a main course and 3-4 as a side dish

1/2 lb green beans, stemmed and snapped into ~1 inch pieces

1/2 a basket of cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

1 medium cucumber, halved and sliced (seed it if you prefer)

crumbled feta for garnish

1 tablespoon dijon mustard
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
~6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

- In a medium saucepan bring ~4 cups of water to a rolling boil and toss in the green beans. Cook briefly, 2-3 minutes for firmer green beans and 3-4 minutes for softer green beans. (your choice) Transfer the green beans to a bowl of ice water to rapidly cool them. (I then used the boiling water to soft boil some eggs to accompany the salad). Thoroughly drain and/or pat dry the green beans.

- In a empty jam jar combine the vinegar, 6 tablespoons of olive oil, and dijon mustard. Screw the lid on tightly and shake vigorously to combine (you can also whisk this together in a small bowl). Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper, and adjust the vinegar and oil to your liking. Set aside.

Note: there is much more vinaigrette than you'll need for one meal, but it goes well with many salads.

- Combine the shallot, tomato, cucumber and green beans in a large bowl. Gently toss the vegetables with the vinaigrette to taste. Add a little at a time until you're happy with the result but be sure not to overdress the salad. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper and serve.