Our CSA has been very lucky with the green beans lately. Every week, green beans. Really, I’m not complaining because I like green beans. I’ve recently been slicing them uber-thin and adding them raw to vegetable slaws or cutting them into manageable lengths and tossing them into a stir fry. And then there are the 2 fantastic standby favorites: lemony green beans and bold green beans.
But a couple of weeks ago, I branched out. I had just received a bag of baby nugget potatoes from our CSA as well and decided that marrying the two in one dish sounded like a good plan of attack. And because I was also cooking up some roasted miso ginger chicken that night, I figured I’d run with the miso theme. The recipe is simple if you’ve got your ingredients on hand – miso and umeboshi vinegar. If you can’t find the umeboshi vinegar (a salty Japanese plum brine), just substitute in some cider vinegar and a good pinch of salt.
This potato and green bean salad makes for a lovely late summer dish. The potatoes are creamy and the beans have snap with the dressing being a nice blend of tartness from the citrus and vinegar and the subtle miso flavour to balance things out. The salad tastes great the following day, however, your green beans will discolour and won’t look as pretty. If you are eating with your eyeballs, this may pose a problem, but your taste buds will only notice how delicious it is.
potato and green bean salad with lemon miso dressing
(adapted from Gourmet)
1/2 lb new baby potatoes
1/2 lb green beans trimmed and cut diagonally into 1 1/2″ pieces
1 green shallot (or regular shallot or green onion), finely chopped
1 T light miso
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lime
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T vegetable oil
1 t umeboshi vinegar
a good grind of black pepperCut potatoes in half or quarters and boil under tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and let cool. Steam green beans for about 4 minutes or until bright green but still crisp. Rinse under cold running water until cool. Add green beans and potatoes into a large bowl. Add the shallot over top.
In a 1-cup measuring cup, combine the remaining ingredients and use a small whisk to blend well. Pour dressing over the vegetables and toss. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
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The CSA gods have rained green beans and new baby potatoes upon us, as well. Thanks so much for the lemon-miso dressing idea. I had tossed the beans with a cilantro pesto last week — which I loved — but I’m excited to move to this Asian take.
That dressing is definitely a breath of fresh air compared to heavy mayo versions!
Ooh, good timing on this recipe! My neighbor just brought over a big bag of green beans. Thanks for the inspiration!
The dressing sounds delicious!
Molly, a cilantro pesto sounds delicious. I’ve made a basil dressing in the past that would work nicely with beans and potatoes, but this new dressing is so nice too!
Joanne, I agree completely! It’s been years since I’ve had a mayo-based potato salad (but I do love them too!)
Glad I could help out, Lynn!
Thanks Nicole, it’s delicious for sure.
Good timing on green beans, they’re very much in season just now. Oddly, my local Japanese supermarket didn’t have umeboshi vinegar, but the Chinese market did. I enjoyed the flavors of this dish, but the amount of dressing created by the recipe seemed excessive. This is probably because the grenade-sized Meyer lemons on my backyard tree are just too juicy. Anyway, Judy loves baby potatoes so it worked for us!
Funny, Robert, because I thought there was just enough dressing – I’m now officially jealous of your backyard meyer lemons!! It’s a good problem to have 🙂
Green beans make me happy, so I’m jealous of your CSA plethora! What a great salad idea 🙂
I’ve been eating a lot of potatoes lately. They’re Ontario potatoes so I’m happy about that 🙂 Must be the cooler fall weather that has arrived but I’ve been craving carbs lately. Love the sound of this salad, garlic, lemon, lime, miso….yum!
I don’t really like potatoes…and I don’t even like green beans, but that miso dressing is a seller!
Thanks Sues, I’m pretty chuffed about our CSA!
Bijoux, I’m so glad we’re having an extended summer – it’s still really hot here which is nice since summer had a slow start here in the PNW! But I can always get behind some hearty carbs & luckily this salad seems nice and light.
Really, Adrianna, I thought everyone liked potatoes! Huh. But yes, that dressing is pretty delicious!
Ah, love the miso-umeboshi dressing on this! It’s just the right variation to give it some new life. Great call.
Thanks Kimberley!
that sounds so delicious– and what a great dressing! why the heck hasn’t my CSA given me green beans even once this summer??
Steph, no green beans? Ha, you can have some of ours! I love them, but it’s getting to be a bit much 🙂
Mmm what a great way to use up the baby potatoes!
Thanks Ashley, it was a tasty dish.