Author Notes
This recipe was inspired by a springtime juxtaposition of some jewel-like cherry plums and fresh green beans at my farmers market. The two complemented each other in a lightly pickled bean salad. Cherry plums are small red fruit with a sweet, floral flavor; mirabelles or other small plums would also work well. The warm vinegar dressing for the beans extracted some of the sweet plum flavor and turned a lovely pink color. The salad makes a nice accompaniment for smoked salmon tartines. —Fairmount_market
Ingredients
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1/2 pound
green beans
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10
small plums
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2 handfuls
salad greens
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1/4 cup
rice wine vinegar
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2 tablespoons
water
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1 teaspoon
sugar
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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1 pinch
red pepper flakes
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1 tablespoon
fresh chopped chives
Directions
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Trim the beans and blanch them in salted boiling water until they are just cooked but still retain some crunch.
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Cut the plumbs into halves or quarters, removing the stones.
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Heat the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes in a small sauce pan until the sugar has dissolved.
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Toss the beans in the hot vinegar dressing, and then stir in the plums. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
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Plate salad greens, layer on the beans and plums, garnish with fresh chopped chives, and serve.
I'm a biology professor and mother of two, and in my (limited) free time I love to cook, which is much more forgiving than laboratory science. Last year I helped start a farmers market in my neighborhood, and to promote it, I created a food blog: fairmountmarket.blogspot.com. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with recipes for local, seasonal ingredients and finding fun ways to cook with my children.
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