This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Was wandering around Instagram earlier and saw this recipe for French beans and Mangetout with Hazelnut and Orange on Suzie’s Farmhouse Kitchen. So I looked up the Ottolenghi recipe as I thought it might appeal to lots of our readers. It is really good cold as a salad, but I’ve also steamed the green veg and served this dish warm. Either way it is simply delish.
French beans and Mangetout with Hazelnut and Orange
6
servingsAs Ottolenghi tells us: Green beans are so popular at Ottolenghi that we seem to be constantly on the lookout for new combinations. Orange and hazelnut go wonderfully well together. They offer a good balance of freshness and earthiness and the flavours are subtle enough to complement the beans without overpowering them. The beans can be cooked and chilled a day in advance and then dressed before serving.
Ingredients
400g French beans
400g mangetout
70g unskinned hazelnuts
1 orange
20g chives, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp hazelnut oil (or another nut oil, if unavailable)
coarse sea salt and black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
- Using a small, sharp knife, trim the stalk ends off the French beans and the mangetout, keeping the two separate. Bring plenty of unsalted water to the boil in a large saucepan – you need lots of space for the beans, as this is crucial for preserving their colour. Blanch the French beans in the water for 4 minutes, then drain into a colander and run them under plenty of tap water until cold. Leave to drain and dry. Repeat with the mangetout, but blanch for only 1 minute.
- While the beans are cooking, scatter the hazelnuts over a baking tray and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Leave until cool enough to handle, then rub them in a clean tea-towel to get rid of most of the skin. Chop the nuts with a large, sharp knife. They should be quite rough; some can even stay whole. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the orange in strips, being careful to avoid the bitter white pith.
- Slice each piece of zest into very thin strips (if you have a citrus zester, you could do the whole job with that).
- To assemble the dish, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, toss gently, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
- Sugarsnaps, green peas and broad beans can substitute any of the other two beans or be added to the salad.
Here are two more green salads you might like to try:
- L: PETITS POIS SALAD: a vibrant green side dish with preserved lemon salsa
- R: CUCUMBER & PEA SALAD: no cook side dish that’s perfect with lamb