One of the most common complaints I get from my husband, Dario, in regards to my cooking, is that I don’t re-make any of my dishes. They don’t get “put into rotation,” as he says. We have them once and then I’m on to something new and exciting. Unless I’m craving a specific dish or I get a request from Dario, I’m always set on trying out a new recipe or cooking with a new ingredient. So even some of my best dishes don’t get prepared on a regular basis. Except for this one.
The….(drum roll please)…Green Bean and Arugula Salad!
This salad is a regular in our house, usually appearing once a week for dinner in addition to a few lunches. I’m totally obsessed with it. It's perfect in every way possible. Goat cheese, toasted walnuts, green beans and arugula – four of my favorite ingredients brought together in one giant salad of glory! You see? I am obsessed with it!
The idea for this salad came from…well I can’t remember exactly. But it’s definitely been around for a while. Knowing myself, I most likely didn’t have any other salad ingredients in the fridge and needed to use up some arugula and green beans (I switched to using those pretty yellow wax beans for some added color). The goat cheese and toasted nuts are regulars in all my salads so they of course were thrown in too. What was created is flavor explosion, a salad with no qualified rival, a dish that makes you excited to eat vegetables!
Oh yes, you need to make this one for sure. It’s great for summer when you’re in the mood for a light but satisfying dinner. And I find that if you have any leftovers it makes a great lunch. Since there’s not a lot of lettuce you don’t have to worry about it being soggy by the time you get a lunch break. It’s the perfect salad – I hope you enjoy it!
Green Bean and Arugula Salad
Recipe by Maria Tadic, RD
Ingredients
1 pound green beans (regular green beans or yellow wax beans work great)
1 1/2 to 2 cups arugula (depends on how much you like)
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
Lemon Vinaigrette
1 tsp. salt and pepper
Directions
- Steam green beans until just tender. Make sure they still have a little crunch to them. Once steamed, allow to cool.
- Heat a small saute pan over medium heat. Add nuts and lightly toast for about 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure to watch them because nuts burn very quickly. Once toasted, set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl add the cooled steamed beans, nuts, arugula and goat cheese. Drizzle with lemon vinaigrette to your liking. Serve immediately!
