Side dish Salad: Green Bean & Cauliflower Salad with bacon and pesto

Our July/August 2015 issue of Cuisine at home arrived this week, and it was the inspiration for my version of a recipe in their magazine. The green beans and cauliflower were blanched for just minutes/seconds (3 min. for green beans; 30 sec. for cauliflower) in the original recipe but we much preferred cooking them to a tender-crisp consistency.

Green Bean & Cauliflower Salad with bacon and pesto

Salad

   1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed & halved

   1 lb. fresh cauliflower floret

   1 cup halved grape tomatoes (I used an heirloom blend)

   7 strips bacon, diced, cooked until crisp

   Toasted pine nuts 

Pesto Dressing

   ¾ to 1 cup prepared pesto

   ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

   Extra olive oil to thin pesto

1. Cook green beans and cauliflower in boiling salted water until tender-crisp (or steam if preferred).
   
2. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking.
3. Dry and completely dry the vegetables (a salad spinner works well for this task).
4. Transfer veggies to a platter; add tomatoes and bacon.
5. Combine ingredients for Pesto Dressing.
6. Garnish vegetables with pine nuts and serve with Pesto Dressing.

Recipe without photos . . .

Green Bean & Cauliflower Salad with bacon and pesto

Salad

   1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed & halved

   1 lb. fresh cauliflower floret

   1 cup halved grape tomatoes (I used an heirloom blend)

   7 strips bacon, diced, cooked until crisp

   Toasted pine nuts 

Pesto Dressing

   ¾ to 1 cup prepared pesto

   ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

   Extra olive oil to thin pesto

1. Cook green beans and cauliflower in boiling salted water until tender-crisp (or steam if preferred).
2. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking.
3. Dry and completely dry the vegetables (a salad spinner works well for this task).
4. Transfer veggies to a platter; add tomatoes and bacon.
5. Combine ingredients for Pesto Dressing.
6. Garnish vegetables with pine nuts and serve with Pesto Dressing.