Green Bean Salad with Cranberries, Almonds, and Fried Garlic

Every year for the holidays I try to come up with a new and enticing vegetable side to serve along with the carbolicious dishes we all know and love. I troll the food magazines, cookbooks, and the internet in search of something colorful and bright to contrast with the browns and beiges of the turkey, mashed potatoes, and my mother’s sausage and mushroom stuffing.

This year, a Bon Appetit recipe for green beans with fried garlic chips caught my eye and I decided to give it a go, adapting it to work for our menu. This dish certainly has “holiday” flair but I think it would work well at any time of the year; for a spring dinner party, a summer picnic or winter holiday meal. It also works well for a vegan or vegetarian dish. What’s really nice is that it’s best served at room temperature so you can make it in advance.

Print Recipe

Green Bean Salad with Cranberries, Almonds, and Fried Garlic

Green Bean Salad with Cranberries, Almonds, and Fried Garlic

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: green beans, side

Servings: 10 portions

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Haricot Verte French Green Beans
• 4 each large garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced on a mandoline
• 2 each medium shallots minced
• 1 cup almonds chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 tablespoon water
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Slice the garlic into very thin slices. Use a mandolin if you have one, but watch your fingers!
• Heat the oil in a large, deep saute pan. Fry the garlic chips in the oil until crisp and golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Reserve the oil, now infused with garlic, in a small bowl. Reserve the pan.
  
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Get a colander and a large bowl of ice water ready. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook just until they are tender-crisp, about 1-2 minutes. Drain the green beans into the colander and then transfer to the bowl of ice water to shock them. Drain again and then place on trays lined with paper towels.
  
• Place the pan used to cook the garlic over medium heat and add a teaspoon of the garlic oil. Add the shallots and the chopped almonds to the pan and cook, stirring, until the almonds are toasted and the shallots are translucent. Transfer to a large bowl.
• In the same pan, add the cranberries, honey, vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the cranberries re-hydrate and are plump, about 4-5 minutes. Add to the bowl with the almonds and shallots. Add the blanched green beans and toss to coat. Place on a platter and garnish with the garlic chips. Drizzle the salad with the remaining garlic oil. This dish can be served room temperature. If making and dressing in advance, remove from the refrigerator a half hour before serving.

Notes

The original recipe can be found here.

Let me know what you think! I’d love to hear from you in the comments.