Wax Bean Pasta Salad Food

STRING BEAN, ARUGULA, AND PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook green and wax beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beans to ice-water bath until cool, reserving water in pot. Drain beans, and cut into 2-inch-long pieces.
• Add pasta to the reserved boiling water, and cook until al dente. Drain and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Transfer chilled pasta to a large serving dish.
• Whisk lemon zest and juice and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Season with pepper. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Drizzle over pasta, and toss until well coated.
• Add beans, pine nuts, and grated Parmesan. Toss until evenly distributed. Just before serving, fold in arugula, and top with shaved Parmesan.

GARDEN BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Soak the diced onion in cold water, 10 minutes.
• Whisk the vinegar, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, then whisk in the olive oil. Drain the onion and pat dry, then add to the dressing. Stir in the white beans.
• Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green and/or wax beans and cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the beans, then plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain again, pat dry and add to the salad. Marinate at room temperature, tossing occasionally, about 1 hour.
• Before serving, stir the parsley and chives into the salad and season with salt and pepper.

ITALIAN PASTA & BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to directions; drain.
• Rinse with cold water.
• Prepare vinaigrette while pasta is cooking.
• Stir all vinaigrette ingredients together in large bowl.
• To Roast Pepper Take 1 large red bell pepper, roast under broiler or on barbecue rotating frequently until skin is black.
• Place warm pepper in sealed zip lock bag for 5 minutes.
• Peel skin off pepper while it is still hot.
• Seed and chop pepper.
• Stir pasta, pepper, canned ingredients and onion into vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Chill and serve.
• Top with feta cheese if desired.
• Enjoy!

PINTO BEAN SALAD WITH ROASTED PEPPERS AND PASTA SHELLS

Steps:

• Place the beans in a large pot and cover generously with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, covered, until the beans are creamy inside, but not mushy, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain beans and transfer to a large bowl to cool. Cook shells in rapidly boiling salted water. When done, drain in a colander, then spread shells on a cookie sheet to allow steam to escape. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. When cool, combine pasta with the pinto beans. Add peppers. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss gently to combine.
• To roast chiles and peppers: Place over a gas flame or on a tray under a broiler. Keep turning so that the skin is evenly charred, without burning and drying out the flesh. Transfer charred peppers to a plastic or paper bag, tie the top closed and allow to steam until cool to the touch, about fifteen minutes. (To speed things up, place bag in a bowl of ice water.) Peel the peppers by hand, then dip the them briefly in water to remove any blackened bits.

WAX BEAN "PASTA" SALAD

Steps:

• For the spinach-basil pesto dressing: Place the basil, spinach, oil and lemon juice in a food processor or blender, then puree until smooth. Add the pine nuts and a salt, if using, and blend again until the mixture has the consistency of a dressing. Add more oil or lemon juice as needed for your desired consistency. Set aside.
• For the wax bean salad: Cut the beans into pasta-size pieces, about 1 1/2 inches long. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet or saute pan and place over medium-high heat. Carefully add the wax beans to the hot skillet in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook the beans until they've softened a little bit and charred where they've touched the pan, 3 to 5 minutes. Toss the beans with a wooden spoon and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Place the cooked beans in a large serving bowl. Continue cooking, adding more oil as needed, until all the beans have been sauteed.
• Add half the pesto dressing, the cherry tomatoes and the shallot if using to the serving bowl and toss with the warm wax beans until combined. Add more pesto to taste and save the remainder of the dressing to serve on the side. Cover and refrigerate the salad and dressing for up to 2 days.

SOUTHWESTERN PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Place cooked pasta in a large bowl, add peppers, onions, tomatillo, corn and lima beans. Place vinegar and chipotle peppers in a blender and blend until smooth. Slowly add olive oil until emulsified and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss the salad with the dressing and add cilantro.

HOT GERMAN WAX BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Steam fresh beans in salted water until tender. Drain beans; **reserve** about 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Cook bacon until crisp and set aside to drain on paper towel. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and sauté onion until lightly browned.
• Add bean liquid to pan and cook until liquid has reduced to 1/4 cup. Add next 4 ingredients and the cooked wax beans.
• Heat through and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh dill.

FOUR-BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• In a large salad bowl, combine all of the beans, green pepper and onions. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Pour over bean mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring several times. Serve with a slotted spoon.

THREE BEAN SALAD

Steps:

• Mix together green beans, wax beans, kidney beans, onion, sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Let set in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.