Warm Salad With Cherry Tomatoes, Haricot Vert and Pancetta
Cherry Tomatoes, Haricot Vert and Pancetta
This is one of my favorite salads, it incorporates 3 ingredients that I love, green beans, tomatoes and pancetta, it’s easy to put together, the vegetables are sauteed in the dressing so they really absorb all the flavors. It’s wonderful when tomatoes are in season but I have been able to get some really good tomatoes from the grocer so this can be made any time. This salad is served warm or room temperature, you don’t have to worry about anything wilting and the colors are so beautiful. I used heirloom cherry tomatoes for this, be sure to have some bread ready to soak up the juices. You do not have to use pancetta to make this vegetarian, add whatever you like as a substitute, I think mushrooms would be delicious.
Serves 4-6
12 mixed color heirloom cherry tomatoes cut in half
1/2 pound haricot vert cleaned and stem side only removed
1 shallot minced
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 pound pancetta cut into cubes (2 1 inch thick slices)
1 tablespoon salt (to add to water to cook haricot vert)
Blanch the haricot vert in a large pot of salted water. Bring water to a boil add at least a tablespoon of salt and add the beans, cook for 5 minutes. While beans are cooking prepare an ice bath you want to add the beans to the ice bath to shock them, remove beans from boiling water and place directly into ice water, this will stop the cooking process and they will retain that beautiful green color. Let your beans get cold then remove to paper towels lay them out in a single layer and pat dry.
Cut your tomatoes in half, mince the shallot and garlic and chop the panceltta into small cube size pieces.
Making the salad:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Heat skillet with the 2 tbs of olive oil, add the shallot cook until just starting to soften, add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan add the pancetta and brown, add the shallot and garlic back into the pan and add the 2 tbs of vinegar. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook just until the tomatoes start to soften and release some of their juices. Now add the haricot vert stir together and let cook for 3-5 more minutes. Adjust seasoning. I found I didn’t need additional salt for my taste, but I did add pepper. Serve and enjoy.
apuginthekitchen 
Oooooh, I love the idea of mushrooms. How brilliant to saute everything in the dressing.
Thank you so much its a delicious salad
This salad looks so warm and delicious – great flavours 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks so much!
What a great warm salad! Beautiful colours and flavours – I love the additions of the pancetta and the garlic. I’ll bet it smells divine too 🙂 Thanks for entering this great Summery dish into Four Seasons Food 🙂 x
Thank you so much, I am so excited to contribute, what fun!!
That looks like one tasty salad. Love the idea of a warm salad cooked in it’s dressing, delish! Thanks so much to taking part in the very first Four Seasons Food challenge!
Thank you so much, the salad is great on a picnic, it stays fresh for hours. I am so happy to have taken part in FSF!
Oh this looks so good! I am growing 4 different kinds of tomatos in my new organic garden and I just can’t wait to try this out!
Thank you, how lucky you are to have an organic garden. This salad would be fantastic with your delicious homegrown veggies. Thanks so much.