Mediterranean Style Green Bean Salad

Classic, simple and rustic! This salad was actually inspired by this gorgeous bowl my mum gave me at Christmas. As soon as I saw it all I could see was this salad piled high with fresh ingredients, plenty of parsley and a taste of the med. Do you find different dishes inspire different recipes?

I haven’t exactly reinvented the wheel here, this is a salad which I have seen variations of many times in restaurants and in cook books but if you haven’t tried it before then you’re in for a treat. You only need a small amount of the sundried tomatoes to give a hint of saltiness as they can be quite over powering, a bit like how some people use a small amount of pancetta in a salad…think of this as a vegan alternative 🙂

I don’t usually buy pine nuts because they are quite a bit more expensive then other nuts and seeds but they are so perfect in this salad I decided to splash out. Chopped almonds or pumpkin seeds could work nicely too.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Vegan, vegetarian, wheat and gluten free, dairy free

300g Green beans (or a few large handfuls)
3 Salad Tomatoes
Large bunch parsley
12-15 Black olives
6 Sundried tomatoes (If they are not in oil then soak them in water for 10 mins)
Extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Handful Pinenuts

Trim the ends off the green beans then steam or boil the green beans until al dente (approx 5 minutes at a gentle boil) then put into a big serving bowl.

Roughly chop the fresh tomatoes and parsley, finely slice the olives and Sundried tomatoes and mix it all together with the green beans.

Place the pine nuts in a frying pan with no added oil and keep on a medium heat until toasted and golden. Sprinkle them on the salad and then squeeze over the lemon and finish with a good drizzle of olive oil.