I was in charge of bringing a salad to a friend’s house the other night and had a few ingredients that I knew I wanted to include. Organic, local green and yellow wax beans were in abundance at Whole Foods and pine nuts, nuts of gold, as I believe the woman checking me out referred to them as, were both part of my master plan. Why have I never noticed that pine nuts are so expensive until now?
Never one to let price get in the way, and yes, that is problematic as I feel like the woman who has an obsession with Manolo Blahniks, except that my stilettos come in the form of truffle oil, fruits from the jungle and pine nuts. I forged ahead nonetheless, toasting those pine nuts to perfection.
The salad was the ideal accompaniment to grilled steaks and tuna, grilled veggies, good friends and wine. Oh and the amazing home made peach & blueberry pie!
Toasted Pine Nut & Green Bean Salad – 6-8 servings
- 1 pound green beans
- 1 pound yellow wax beans
- 3 small heads frisee
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 4 oz gorgonzola crumbles
- roasted garlic dressing
Wash beans and cut off ends. Cut into about 2 inch pieces. Add to boiling, salted water and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool with cold water. Set aside.
Wash and clean frisee, drying completely in a salad spinner. Set aside.
Heat small pan and add pine nuts. Stirring often, toast pine nuts until golden brown and fragrant.
Assemble salad: layer frisee in large bowl. Top with green beans, cheese crumbles, pine nuts and dressing. Toss to combine and serve immediately.
Roasted Garlic Dressing
- 4 cloves roasted garlic
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- salt & pepper
Whisk all ingredients together, breaking up garlic cloves.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks delicious! I would have never thought to add gorgonzola!
Why are pine nuts so expensive?
That looks delicious! Nothing like some stank cheese to take a salad to another level. I made pesto last night with a bunch of pine nuts and yeah…spenny. Luckily I made enough to last a while. Delicious but spenny.
I’m with Melissa. … Why must pine nuts cost so much? There are so many yummy ways to use them, like this salad, but I never feel compelled to buy them.
I *LOVE* the looks of this salad! Sometimes I get sick of lettuce-based salads – salads with chunks of veggies, cheese and nuts hit the spot!
I agree, I don’t have them that often but they are SO filling! I need to add more of them into my life!
that is one attractive salad! totally laughing at the Manolo comment
Green beans are the one vegetable that I’m a bit of a purist on. I usually only steam them and season with salt and pepper. I think this stems from having them in the summer fresh from my mom’s garden. I really need to branch out and try this recipe. It looks fabulous!
definitely try the grilled carrots! I don’t like cooked carrots either, but I love these.
it was delicious!!
Mmm, I absolutely adore pine nuts! I wish they weren’t so stinkin’ expensive or I’d put them on everything!
This salad looks so filling and delicious. I agree with you, it looks like the perfect accessory to a summer BBQ. I love pine nuts, too, but am easily turned away from them due to the cost.
I’ve actually never cooked with pine nuts. This salad looks amazing and I am thinking of all the wonderful veggies I can toss in that garlic dressing.
There’s a relatively recent shortage of pine nuts worldwide and that’s why they are so expensive right now. I’m not sure exactly what caused the shortage. They are so delicious and worth a small amount, though, aren’t they? This recipe looks delish! I haven’t had a wax bean since I was a kid and out of a can. Will try it!
Really? I had no idea. I was wondering why I had never noticed how expensive they were in the past…Thanks for the info Amy!
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