Purple Beans with Shallot Dressing
I have a fascination with odd colored foods. Blue potatoes, yellow watermelon – I love it all. It’s like living in the crazy future where everything is the wrong color.
Purple beans are so pretty when they’re raw, I can’t resist them when I see them at the Farmer’s Market. Dark and mysterious, they taste just like their green bean counterparts. The sad thing is when they’re cooked all the pigment goes away, so I cook them just enough to be on the al dente side. Like a faded photograph, this leaves just a bit of that strange colored tinge that drew me to them in the first place.
dressing ingredients:
2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 shallot, finely minced
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
Blanche the purple beans, keeping the purplish color as much as possible and giving the beans a bit of a bite. Set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together the champagne vinegar, dijon mustard, shallot and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve over the purple beans.
