Mixed Bean Italian Salad

Last week, our CSA delivery came with a nice little surprise - a variety of beans!  There were green beans, purple podded, and yellow wax beans included.  So, immediately I was thinking of making a bean salad, but I also wanted to add kidney beans because I was thinking the colors would all be beautiful.  (And, kidney beans are a super food...)  I guess I must admit that I have not yet met a bean that I didn't like...  So, if beans aren't really your thing, this may not be for you.  But, if you are a fan of the beans, I loved this simple preparation. 

Ingredients
1/2 pound fresh green beans
1/4 pound purple podded beans (Can't find them? They taste like green beans - just increase the green & wax.)
1/4 pound yellow wax beans
1 15 oz. can of red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup Italian dressing (Choose your level zestiness like you would on your salad!)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp  red onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp parsley (We had fresh flat leaf parsley in the delivery, but you could use flakes.)
1 tsp mixed fresh yellow rosemary and garlic chives (You could just sub italian seasoning, I'm sure...)

Instructions
Trim green, purple, and wax beans, and cut or snap into pieces roughly one inch.  Place into a small pot of water (make sure the water covers the beans) and bring to a boil.  Cook until desired tenderness, I like them a little crisp tender, so it took about 7 minutes once they were boiling.

This is where I had a bean buzzkill.  The purple podded beans turn green when they cook.  Boo...  There goes my four color salad...  Oh well.  It's just another reason to not worry about finding the purple podded beans...  :)

Drain the cooked beans and place them in a bowl, add the kidney beans and the remaining ingredients. 

Cover and chill at least one hour - it takes some time for the beans to really soak in the dressing.  It actually gets better as it ages.  Serves approximately 6.

This is meant to be a cold salad, but I took leftovers to work the next day, and absent-mindedly stuck them in the microwave with my pork tenderloin.  They were delicious hot, too...

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato & Green Bean Gratin

This one was a real adventure.  I'll be honest.  If I make this again, I will add A LOT more cheese...  So, think about a creamier cheese variety between the layers or just more of what I did.  But, it was a little boring as it stands... 

And, also, I almost mandolined my fingernail off.  I seriously escaped with just a divot out of the middle, thanks to a timely manicure... 

Just being honest.  They aren't all home runs!

Sweet Potato & Green Bean Gratin

Ingredients
2 Sweet Potato (medium size), peeled and sliced
1/2 candy onion, sliced and carmelized

1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and snapped
1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. grated parmesan
1/2 c buttermilk
2 pieces of bacon, crumbled

 
(Measurements on the cheese and buttermilk are not precise)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease or spray a baking dish to keep from gratin from sticking.  Layer the ingredients in this order:  sweet potato, green beans, carmelized onions, bacon, shredded cheeses, buttermilk.

When all layers are complete, place in the preheated oven and allow to bake about an hour.  Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before cutting and eating.  Serves 9. 

Again, I would add more cheese than what you see here.  And, I would probably heavily salt and pepper this on each layer if I made it again.  I think it could really stand up to a stronger, creamy cheese.  The bones are good, but it needs more flavor!!!  If you improve this, please let me know what you did!