Green Beans and Red Onion with Warm Mustard Vinaigrette

Organizing my home has been my top priority lately.  I am trying to de-clutter as much as possible so that my transition from super-fun summer to super-lame school year can be a smooth one.  Stacks and stacks of cooking magazines were found in my closet and I have been going through them, ripping out recipes to try.  Our best friends Stephen and Christy and their little guy Andrew were coming over for dinner yesterday and I knew I wanted to grill some Lemon Rosemary chicken kabobs. From my giant new pile of to-try recipes, I chose Green Beans and Red Onions with Warm Mustard Vinaigrette from Cooking Light, December 2003 as our vegetable side.

Green Beans and Red Onion with Warm Mustard Vinaigrette
Adapted from Cooking Light, December 2003

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
• 1 cup vertically sliced red onion
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

• Cook green beans in boiling water for 6 minutes or until crisp-tender, and drain. Combine the green beans and onion in a large bowl.

• Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, and black pepper; cook over medium heat 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated, stirring vinaigrette constantly with a whisk. Drizzle vinaigrette over bean mixture; toss well to coat. Serve immediately.

Nutritional info per serving

• Calories: 69
• Calories from fat: 38%
• Fat: 2.9g
• Saturated fat: 0.4g
• Monounsaturated fat: 1.8g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.4g
• Protein: 2.6g
• Carbohydrate: 10.4g
• Fiber: 4.3g
• Cholesterol: 0.0mg
• Iron: 1.5mg
• Sodium: 232mg
• Calcium: 54mg

Cook green beans in boiling water for 6 minutes or until crisp-tender, and drain. (I steamed mine for 7 minutes.)

Combine the green beans and onion in a large bowl.

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add vinegar, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, and black pepper; cook over medium heat 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated, stirring vinaigrette constantly with a whisk.

Drizzle vinaigrette over bean mixture; toss well to coat. Serve immediately.

WOW.  CL's Green Beans and Red Onion with Warm Mustard Vinaigrette is awesome!  I haven't been this excited about a vegetable side dish in quite some time.  This recipe is very easy to make and the sauce is made from pantry staples that most people always have on hand.  I actually steamed the green beans earlier in the day and just nuked them in the microwave for two minutes before adding the sauce.  It really couldn't be more simple.  All of the vegetable eaters at the table gave these green beans two thumbs up, and Christy asked me to send her the recipe.  This recipe is already on the menu for next week when my parents come to town.

-Heather