Green Bean and Blackberry Salad
The BFM’s marketing director, Lindsay Strannigan, is not only a marketing consultant and event planner, but she is also an accomplished writer with a food blog called Rosemarried. As you can imagine her plate is very full in more ways than one so it does not surprise me that she describes her cooking style as “slow food for a fast life”. I thought that you would enjoy reading Lindsay’s blog and asked her to share her recipe for “Green Beans with Blackberries and Goat Cheese”. There is no better time to make this delicious dish than right now. Both green beans and blackberries are abundant in the market and goat cheese is available from Briar Rose Creamery and Portland Creamery.
Green Bean and Blackberry Salad 1lb green beans, trimmed 1/2 cup blackberries 1/4 cup goat cheese, room temperature 1 medium-large yellow onion, sliced into thin rounds The juice of 1/2 a lemon 3 Tablespoons olive oil 1.5 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar Salt & pepper, to taste
In a medium sized pot, bring salted water to a boil. Cook green beans in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or until bright green. Remove green beans from the boiling water and plunge into an ice bath. Pat dry and set aside.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add the onions and cook over medium-low heat until caramelized. Remove from heat and set aside for later.
Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add a dash of salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Toss the green beans and caramelized onions in the dressing mixture. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving, to allow flavors to meld. When you’re ready to serve the salad, sprinkle the blackberries over the green bean mixture. Crumble or place small dollops of goat cheese on the salad. Enjoy!
