Well salad is my all-time favorite – after cake of course! What can I say I have always and will always be a cake lover…

But a good salad with lots of taste is actually also one of my favorite things to eat. I have a habit of adding lots of different ingredients to my salads, which is actually fine and I do love it. But once in a while I crave a simple salad with just few ingredients.

This salad is exactly that – a simple salad with few ingredients. But don’t let that fool you, it is packed with taste and lovely texture. Don’t miss out on the almonds or the step where you roast them in the oven, because the almonds add the extra crunch to the salad and balance out the garlicy dressing.

I made this salad off the haricots verts season so I used frozen ones and that actually worked pretty well. I will definitely make it when they are in season as well, but I like how there are endless opportunities in the kitchen when you have frozen veggies and fruits. In Denmark we have a wide range and many organic ones as well so that is a great help in the kitchen, especially those days where time is of essence. I cannot count the times frozen veggies have saved my dinner and saved me from maybe eating something bad for my body and that I really did not want to eat.

Well back to the salad. I made it for a dinner one day my mother-in-law was coming over and she really liked the salad. We had it with calf culotte and other sides, I must admit preparing meat is not my strength and we do not eat much of it. I personally prefer plant-based proteins but I also like to have a good steak occasionally. If I have protein, I prefer fish or chicken as they are lighter on the digestive system and this salad would go well with these. It would also go well with a chickpea stew or some beans sautéed om a pan with species.

Well enough already, you better make this delish salad for dinner right away…ready steady cook.

Haricots Verts and Almond salad

For 4 persons as a side dish

Ingredients:

75 g almonds

200 g haricots verts (I used frozen because its was not season, otherwise use fresh ones)

30 g fresh parsley – finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic – crushed/pressed

1 lemon (zest and juice)

1 dl olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Roast the almonds in a preheated oven (200°C) for approximately 10-12 min, take care they don’t burn. Let cool and chop roughly.
2. Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the haricots and let simmer for 3-4 min, take care not to overcook them.
3. Transfer the haricots to a sieve and rinse with cold water, let them drip off and then gently dry them in a teacloth.
4. Mix the parsley, garlic, lemon zest and juice, olive oil and salt/pepper to form a dressing.
5. Mix the haricots verts gently with the dressing and top with the chopped almonds.
6. Enjoy for lunch or dinner as a side dish.