Salade de Haricots Verts a l'Estragon
Haricots verts are the slim French green beans, and this is the way they are most often eaten there: barely cooked, still snapping, cloaked in a sharp mustard vinaigrette. The trick to keeping them the color of the garden is to boil them hard and briefly, then shock them in ice water so they never overcook. The dressing stays within the rules because Dijon mustard, whisked with vinegar, lemon, and a splash of water, emulsifies into something creamy with no oil at all. Tarragon is the signature here, its faint anise the note that reads as classically French, backed up by parsley and a handful of toasted walnuts for crunch. Serve it slightly warm or at room temperature, never fridge-cold.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Green beans, trimmed
- 2 wholes Shallots, minced
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp White wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Tarragon, chopped
- 2 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp Walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Bring a wide pot of water to a hard boil and cook the green beans until crisp-tender and bright green, about 4 minutes. Drain and plunge them into ice water. Shocking them stops the cooking cold and locks in the color, so they stay green rather than fading to army drab.
- Whisk the mustard, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, minced shallot, and 1 tablespoon water in the serving bowl until it thickens and turns creamy. Dijon is an emulsifier: whisked hard with acid and water, it holds together like a dressing with none of the oil one would normally beat in.
- Drain the beans and blot them dry, then toss them into the vinaigrette while they still hold a little warmth. Warm beans drink up a dressing far better than cold ones, so dress them straight out of the ice bath and pat.
- Fold in the tarragon and parsley, scatter the toasted walnuts over the top, and finish with black pepper. Tarragon's soft licorice note is what pushes this from a plain bean salad into a French one, so do not swap it out.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 100 calories, 4 g protein, 5 g fiber, 130 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
