Two-Bean Salad with Tarragon Dressing

Ah, what to say about this salad other than that it was good? Not tons, other than to express my appreciation for the various salad-recipes that have been in the past couple issues of the Vegetarian Times--as much as they piss me off sometimes, they do come up with some DAMN good salad recipes (I'll be posting yet another one later this week as well).

This one is particularly nice because it strikes me as particularly healthy, mostly because it's very dynamic in its list of ingredients: everything from chickpeas to green beans to artichoke hearts to olives.

The only two warnings I offer you:

It is very acidic (between the vinegar and the tomatoes), so be forewarned and perhaps avoid chowing down on it with a very empty and very hungry stomach--I made that mistake one afternoon, and it left me with a few hours of really intense stomach pain, from what I can only assume was the very potent vinegar content.

And although it makes for good leftovers, if you want it to look pretty, aim to serve it within a few hours of making it, otherwise the green beans start to look like pasty-ass white-boys out at the beach after a long winter.

Other than that, have ye at it.

(The changes I made from the original are asterisked.)

INGREDIENTS:

The Two-Bean Salad

• 1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces*


• One 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed


• 1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved (I used grape toms, don't know if there's a difference)


• One 12 or 15 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped* (I spanked them a little and said dirty things to them while chopping them)


• 1/2 c. pitted kalamata olives, halved


• 1/4 c. thinly-sliced red onion


• 1/4 c. finely chopped Italian parsley

The Tarragon Dressing

• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar


• 2 t. Dijon mustard


• 1 t. agave nectar* (or maple syrup)


• 1 clove garlic


• 1/4 t. salt


• 1/4 t. black pepper


• 1/4 c. olive oil


• 1 T. fresh tarragon

DIRECTIONS

Steam green beans until just tender but still crispy. Let cool.
In the meantime, place all your Tarragon Dressing ingredients (except for the last two) in a blender and whip the shit out of them (*growr*). While processor is still running, slowly add your final two ingredients. Blend until completely smooth.
Toss green beans in with all other salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over the top and mix.
Serve at room temperature.

(adapted from The Vegetarian Times, April 2007, p. 76)