Warm Green Bean Salad

This has been the year for green beans on our farm.  I planted five short rows and they have been giving non stop. 

I love it!! 

I've canned countless quarts and made bean salad.  We've eaten a "mess" of beans almost every week all summer long. You know what that is right?  A big pot of beans cooked with a little piece of bacon for seasoning or maybe just a little olive oil.  You can't really go wrong with that.   But one of our favorite dishes using fresh beans and cherry tomatoes is a warm green bean salad.  I've been making it so long, I can't even remember where I got the recipe.  So unfortunately  I can't give credit where credit's due.  All I know is, we sure love it. 

 I like to use very small and tender beans for this dish.  I string the beans and just trim the ends.  Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

This recipe calls for pancetta, which is an Italian bacon.  You can buy it at the deli and recently I've seen it packaged in some grocery stores.  A good thick sliced bacon can be substituted, but honestly, I think it's best with the pancetta.  Pancetta is not cheap, so I watch for it to go on sale and then I buy a couple of pounds, putting a few slices in a package, vacuum sealing it and keeping it in the freezer until I need it.  It freezes beautifully (as does bacon).   I have a number of recipes that call for pancetta - brussels sprouts with a balsamic glaze and a butternut squash soup, come instantly to mind.  I'm always happy when I get ready to make one of these if I have some pancetta that I can pull out of the freezer, instead of using my bacon.

Chop the bacon or pancetta into small pieces and cook in frying pan until crisp. Watch closely so they don't get too brown.  Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Boil the green beans in salted water until just tender.  Don't overcook.  The beans should still have a little snap to them, but not too much crunch.  This is not your southern style, "cook'em till their mushy", bean dish.  Drain in colander and dry the beans off on a paper towel.  You don't want them to have water on them, because it will dilute the dressing.

With a few tablespoons of the rendered fat from the bacon, you will make a nice warm dressing with a little olive oil, sherry vinegar and honey, which you pour over the beans and tomatoes.  Gently mix.

Grate fresh parmesan cheese over the top and add the crumbled pancetta.  Enjoy it right away while it's still warm.

We had this salad a couple of days ago with grilled chicken and whipped sweet potatoes(also from the garden!) and it was a delicious meal. I'm going to miss those fresh beans and  tomatoes, because they are almost gone now.  But yesterday I planted some fall vegetables in my raised beds- broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, beets and lettuce, so in another month or so, we'll be having different kinds of salads.  

Warm Green Bean Salad

cherry tomatoes, halved

1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed

1/4 lb. chopped pancetta or a few slices of bacon

2 1/2 T. sherry vinegar

1/2 T. honey

3 T. olive oil

grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Slice tomatoes in half and clean and trim beans. 

 In small bowl, mix vinegar and honey. 

  Cook pancetta in pan. Drain on paper towels.  

Discard most of the fat from pan, leaving a couple of tablespoons.  

Add olive oil to pan.  Set aside.

  Cook beans in boiling water until barely tender. 

Drain beans and pat dry on a paper towel. 

 Put the beans in a bowl with the tomatoes. 

 Return pan with oil to medium heat.  

When oil is warm, whisk in the vinegar-honey mixture and turn the heat to high. 

 Whisk until mixture boils and emulsifies.

  Pour over hot vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 Add pancetta and top with cheese.  Toss gently.