Green Bean and Roasted Pepper Salad
Green Bean and Roasted Pepper Salad is subtly flavoured with garlic, parsley, and olive oil. It’s lovely served on its own with bread, served as a side, or eaten as one of several little dishes to enjoy together mezze or tapas style. This simple salad can be ready in 20 minutes using jarred roasted peppers.
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This lovely little salad is one you hardly need a recipe for. Best made when green or French beans are in season, it’s so simple to put together but incredibly enjoyable. Like my Green Bean, Tomato & Potato Salad with Aioli, it’s based on an idea in Lynda Brown’s The Cook’s Garden (1990).
Full of unfussy suggestions with minimal ingredients, I think of that excellent book as a jumping off point for ideas rather than recipes to minutely follow. But don’t worry if you prefer detailed amounts and instructions. You’ll find a recipe card at the end with my version of Green Bean and Roasted Pepper Salad.
GREEN BEAN AND ROASTED PEPPER SALAD
If you can multitask, you can easily make this delightful salad in under twenty minutes. And you only need five ingredients plus salt and pepper.
- Green (or French) beans
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Roasted red pepper (I use jarred for convenience)
- Chopped parsley
In the UK, we went from green beans (and pretty much all other veg) being completely overcooked and soggy, to barely being shown a pot of water before serving up virtually raw. Thankfully, we now know how to cook them properly. Boiled or steamed just enough to bring out the natural sweetness, but still with a little bite.
How long your beans take to get to this perfect stage will depend on how thick and also how old they are. The green beans in this post were the first of the season; slim and fresh from my organic veg box delivery. They only took around 5 minutes to simmer in lightly salted water before I drained and set them aside.
While the beans are simmering, I put some olive oil in a frying pan over low to medium heat. When it’s hot I add finely chopped garlic. This is cooked for a couple of minutes, just until it’s lightly golden. Strips of roasted pepper go in next; I think it’s nice if they’re a similar width and length as the beans. Tip: if you want to roast your own peppers rather than using jarred, I’ve added instructions in a note to the recipe card.
When the pepper’s taken on some of the garlic flavour, tip in the drained green beans and add a good grind of black pepper, stirring everything around really well. Finally, stir in most of the chopped parsley saving a little for a garnish if liked. Take the pan off the heat and have a taste. Add more pepper or salt if you think it needs it.
SERVING GREEN BEAN AND ROASTED PEPPER SALAD
While you could serve the salad straight away, I think it’s much better at room temperature or barely warm. So, I transfer it to a bowl and set aside to cool. To allow the flavours to meld, you can put it in the fridge for longer. Just be sure to let it come back to room temperature before eating; too cold and the natural flavours will be blunted.
When serving, I like to drizzle over each portion a little more olive and add a scattering of fresh parsley.
This simple salad can be eaten on its own or with bread. Above, I served it with my easy Turkish Pide Flatbread. If you’ve any leftovers, they’ll be fine covered in the fridge for 2 – 3 days. I also enjoy this salad as a side dish. The day after I made this one, it went perfectly with a buttered baked potato and steak for dinner.
Green Bean & Roasted Pepper Salad would also be a nice addition to a meal of little plates: mezze, tapas, or antipasti. Try it with
- Roasted Beetroot Hummus
- Lamb Kofte Kebabs
- Artichoke Spread with Garlic, Lemon & Mint
- Baba Ganoush with Roasted Garlic
- Labneh: homemade yogurt cheese
- Batata Harra: Lebanese spicy potatoes
If you’ve made this recipe I’d love to know what you thought. Please do leave a comment and rating.
Green Bean and Roasted Pepper Salad
Subtly flavoured with garlic and parsley, this simple salad is lovely served on its own or with bread, as a side, or eaten as one of several little dishes to enjoy together mezze or tapas style.
For convenience, use jarred roasted peppers. If you prefer to roast your own, you'll find instructions in the Recipes Notes at the end.
Ingredients
- 225 - 250 g green beans (topped and tailed: weight before prep)
- salt
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil (plus extra for serving)
- 3 - 4 large - medium cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 or 2 large or medium roasted red pepper(s) (cut into strips roughly the same size as the beans)
- black pepper
- 1 heaped tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
Instructions
-
Put the prepared, washed and drained green beans in a saucepan and add a large pinch of salt. Pour over boiling water from a kettle and simmer until just tender but still with a little bite.
(You can start step 2 while they're cooking)
Drain and set aside.
-
Put a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over moderate-low heat. When hot, stir in the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes or until lightly golden: do not let it get too dark.
Add the roasted pepper strips, a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper, and stir around for a few minutes. Add the drained green beans and stir again to combine well.
Stir in most of the parsley, saving a little for a garnish if liked.
-
Take off the heat, taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
-
While the salad can be served straight away, it's recommended that you transfer it to a bowl and cool to room temperature or until only just warm.
When serving, drizzle over a little olive oil and a sprinkle on some fresh parsley if liked.
Can be stored in the fridge for 2 - 3 days. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Roasted red peppers. For convenience, I use jarred roasted peppers for this recipe. If you prefer to roast your own you can do this either under a grill at its highest setting, turning often, or in a very hot oven, turning a few times. When the peppers are lightly charred all over, transfer to a heatproof bowl, cover with a plate or similar and leave until cold. Discard the core, seeds and skin.
Note 2: Recipe based on an idea in Lynda Brown’s The Cook’s Garden (1990)
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