David Tanis' Bean Salad

I have been without a refrigerator for 3 weeks. Actually, I own the refrigerator, I just don't have it in my possession, but that is a long and ugly story. I recently watched a docudramatization of what the world would be like after the apocalypse. We would basically be screwed. Not counting the marauding gangs of hungry children that would kill you for a root vegetable (according to this program gangs of vicious children would be about the worst thing after the apocalypse), there would be the general problem of what to do without television to watch docudramatizations. For that matter, what would we do without electricity or the refrigerator that is run by electricity. Which brings me to my recent dilemma of not having a refrigerator and realizing, quite dramatically, what I use the refrigerator for every day.

There has been a lot of eating out of the garden. Recently at Cookbook Of The Day, I wrote about David Tanis' Heart of the Artichoke. I love Tanis because he really loves the "food" that food is made of and not just the allure of being a chef. He works at Chez Panisse, so that might just have something to do with his approach. I had seen a recipe for Green Bean Salad with Pickled Shallots. I had also left the cookbook on my desk, so I wasn't sure of the exact recipe, but I knew that having seen his recipe, I could replicate it even without his book. Here is the recipe:

Green Bean Salad with Pickled Shallots

3 large shallots
Salt and Pepper
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 pounds small green beans, topped and tailed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely slivered chives

Peel the shallots and slice crosswise. Put them in a small bowl, season well with salt and pepper, add the vinegar. let sit for a half hour.

Boil the green beans in a large pot of salted water for 3 to 5 minutes, until just past the crunchy. Spread them out to cool. Just before you serve the salad, put the green beans in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Whisk the olive oil into the shallots and vinegar, then add the dressed shallots to the beans. Toss well, transfer to a platter or serving bowl, and sprinkle with chives.

In that great cooking tradition: I had no green beans, only yellow beans. I had no shallots, only fresh onions. I had no sherry vinegar, but I did have white balsamic. I had chives but I used parsley. Oh yes, and I had no refrigerator! I didn't "tail" my beans. That is a very American thing to do. The French just leave them and I am more inclined to do that, especially since I grew the beans. Here is my:

Yellow Bean Salad with Pickled Onions.

tails and all.