To be perfectly honest, I don’t enjoy green beans as much as others, but French beans, which are thinner, I like. The key will be keeping them bright green and crispy, so keep a bowl of ice water ready before you cook the beans. This will be great as an appetizer or a lunch salad.

Ingredients (serves 4)

400 g French beans
400 g kesong puti
2 tbsps basil, chopped
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsps Dijon mustard
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsps sundried tomatoes in olive oil or bottled red pesto
Salt, sugar and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Blanche the green beans in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes, making sure they are still crisp and bright green.
  2. Place the green beans in ice water to stop the cooking process. Once cold, strain them to dry.
  3. In a bowl, combine mustard and balsamic. Season with salt, pepper and sugar.  Slowly pour in the oil while whisking to form the dressing.  Marinate the beans in the dressing for 10 minutes.
  4. Using a torch, warm the cheese until very soft or golden and place on top of the green beans. Garnish with red pesto.
  5. If using sundried tomatoes in olive oil, just blend them in a food processor until it forms a pesto.