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Warm Penne and Green Bean Salad

As we are hanging up our winter coats and finding that bounce back in our feet to take in the Spring Art Festivals, getting back to playing golf, planting our gardens, and unleashing our grills for weekend barbecues, one of my favorite quick yet impressive and tasty meals is Warm Penne and Green Beans.

Green Beans or French beans are found all year round which allows you to cook this any time although they have a peak season from May to October. Green beans, or string beans as northerners call them, are considered the unripe fruit of any kind of bean. This is because the green bean is picked while still immature and the inner bean is still beginning to form. Green beans are one of the few beans that can be eaten fresh. They typically grow to be four inches in length before they are plucked. Green beans are a deep green in color and come to a slight point on both ends. Some green beans will carry tiny seeds in their pods depending on when they have been harvested.

When purchasing your fresh green beans, choose the ones that are slender, crisp, bright green in color, and blemish-free. Always wash your fresh green beans and shake or pat them dry on a paper towel. To prepare your green beans for cooking, snip both ends. A fresh green bean should snap crisply when you snip the ends and then snap the bean in two. A fresh green bean should feel velvety to the touch. Old beans are paler in color, and leathery or limp.

One serving of fresh green beans provides up to 25% of your vitamin K daily need and helps main strong bones and teeth. They contain a compound called phytonutrients that may prevent cancer and heart disease. Vitamin K is essential for blood to clot and assists in preventing plaque build up on the walls of your arteries. They are also an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and manganese. Green beans are a good source of dietary fiber, potassium, foliate and iron. For you those of you worried about your weight, Green beans are low in calories; a whole cup only contains 43.75 calories. Green beans have enough nutrients to put the Aphrodite to shame, so eat up girls!

Warm Penne and Green Bean Salad

1 pound of fresh green beans
8 oz of Penne
cup of olive oil
cup balsamic vinegar
1 T Dijon Mustard
2 T chopped garlic
1 T kosher salt
t pepper
cup of black olives sliced
cup of green olives with pimento's sliced
2 scallions, diced

Substitutes or Add-on if you like:
1 carton fresh mushrooms
1 carton cherry tomatos
1 can of quartered artichokes

If you don't like Dijon Mustard or Balsamic vinegar or you just want a quick dressing, you can substitute any Italian Dressing.

Wash your green beans in cold water, pat dry, snip off both ends and snap beans in half.

Fill an 8 quart pot with water half way. Toss in two pinches of Kosher Salt and about two tablespoons of olive oil. Bring to a boil and empty carton of penne and lower the temperature. Cook until Penne is slightly tender but not limp about 10 minutes. When you are in the last five minutes of cooking the pasta, place the greens beans in the pot to boil. Remove from heat and drain the water. Place pasta and green beans on a large pasta platter or deep bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients and serve warm.

One of the best things about this meal is the day after it is great cold as well.

Learn more about this author, Rosanne Sloane.
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