sesame ginger green bean salad

I love a good green bean dish. Like, it is so satisfying and makes you feel a bit healthy ... even if you happen to have covered it in fried onions. It's beans! It's good for you! But since it is summer, I was hoping for something just a tiny bit lighter and didn't require a can of mushroom soup. The temperature recently has been a real muggy 85. I was on the hunt for something that could be served cold, could make in advance, and would satisfy a wide range of tastes.

This green bean dish is a flipping home run. I will now consider it a staple in my Summer menu options because it really filled all the checkboxes I was after. Make ahead? Check. Easy? Check. Satisfies a crowd? Check and check and check. When I was asking for reviews on favorite sides, this was one that kept coming up. People really liked the subtle but unique flavor!

I'm normally against buying things just to suit a one-time dish... but I did buy the sesame seeds and I have no regrets. I'll totally be making this again and probably using up every little sesame seed on the way.
  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and set up an ice bath right near by.
  2. While your water is heating, prep and clean your beans.
  3. Add your beans to the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then immediately pull them and submerge them in the ice bath to stop the cooking. 
  4. Dry the beans on paper towels or whatever - but pretty much remove the excess moisture. At this point, you could store the beans for a day or so until you were ready to actually make the dish. 
  5. In a medium-high large pot over the stove, combine the ingredients for the dressing. This means = olive oil, ginger, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil. Whisk to combine and let stay on the stove until it begins to thicken a bit.
  6. Add your cooked beans to the pot and mix to combine and get the dressing all over everything. Stir in the peas.
  7. Move to your serving plate and then sprinkle with the sesame seeds and perhaps a bit of sea salt. 
  8. All done!
Shopping List
2 lbs. green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely minced or grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 cup tiny frozen peas, thawed
2-3 teaspoons light sesame seeds

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