Now Harvesting Dragon Tongue Beans and a Recipe for Roasted Fingerling and Tomato Salad with Green Beans and Arugula

Dragon Tongue Beans … not only do they have a cool name, they are colored pretty green and purple beans.  Never one to settle for the ordinary I seek out new and unusual vegetables to grow in my garden.  Dragon Tongue Beans turned out to be a winner for me! I ordered these from rareseeds.com.  Their description of these beans:  “This famous Dutch heirloom bean has an incomparable flavor. The tender and superbly delicious 7-inch pods are yellow, with amazing purple streaks! Also makes a tasty shelled bean. Popular with chefs and gourmets. Compact plants set high yields.”  They have great flavor and are now my favorite bean next to Edamame.  Once cooked, sadly they loose their pretty purple color and turn lime green, but loose none of their delicious flavor.  In reading the reviews I saw many people enjoyed them raw.  I think I need to go to the garden and try them right off the plant!

Beans this good deserved an equally good recipe.  Green beans would work just as well if you are unable to find Dragon Tongue Beans.  I used a mix of green beans and dragon tongue beans.  I tried this salad warm and tried the leftovers cold.   Both ways were good but I actually enjoyed it more cold – it’s a matter of preference.  Try it yourself and see which you prefer.  ENJOY!

Roasted Fingerling and Tomato Salad with Green Beans and Arugula (*Note:  I drastically reduced the amount of olive oil from the original recipe and I think next time I may reduce it even more.)

INGREDIENTS

5 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil*
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 pounds Russian banana fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
4 stems fresh thyme
1/2 shallot, minced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces green beans
2 cups baby arugula

COOK’S NOTE

To ensure maximum flavor, toss potatoes with dressing while they’re still warm.

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the salad: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Puree garlic and oil in a blender until smooth. Toss with potatoes, tomatoes, and thyme on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until potatoes are golden and tender, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.
2. Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until bright green and just tender. Transfer to ice-water bath. When cool, drain beans in a colander
3. Make the dressing: Combine vinegar, mustard, thyme, and shallot in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified.
4. Toss potato mixture, beans, and arugula with dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Source:  Slightly adapted from:   Marthastewart.com

Green Beans in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This was quite good – although I probably would only make this once in awhile due to the fat content.  I discovered this recipe on another blogger’s great site.  Check it out he has some really good recipes!  I could not find porcini or cremini mushrooms so I substituted baby bella mushrooms and omitted the soaking in water and sautéed in butter.

Source:  Closetcooking.com

Green Beans in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce from Closet Cooking Servings: makes 4 servings   Ingredients 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms 1/2 cup boiling water 2 tablespoons butter 1 small onion, diced 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped 1/2 cup cream 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated salt and pepper to taste 1 handful parsley, chopped 1 pound green beans Directions Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in the water for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 4-6 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minutes. Add the cremini mushrooms and saute until the start to caramelized and turn golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Add the porcini mushrooms and the water they were soaking in to the pan and simmer at medium-high until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the cream and parmigiano reggiano, season with salt and pepper and simmer until it thickens, about 2-4 minutes. Meanwhile steam the green beans. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and mix in the parsley. Serve the green beans covered in the mushroom sauce.

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