Green Bean & Fennel Salad with Roasted Tomatoes

Brighten up your meal with this crisp and flavorful Green Bean & Fennel Salad with Roasted Tomatoes. This refreshing salad combines tender green beans with the sweet aniseed notes of fennel and the rich, concentrated flavors of slow-roasted cherry tomatoes. Perfect as a light lunch or a vibrant side dish, this recipe is sure to impress with its blend of textures and aromatic dressing. 

Ingredients

The Salad

• 400g baby green bean
• 1 very small red onion, finely slice
• 1 medium fennel bulb, finely sliced

Dressing

• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs white wine vinegar or verjuice
• 1 clove gaarlic, crushed
• 2 tbs mint, chopped, plus extra for garnish

The Tomatoes

• 1 punnet red cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• Sea salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven 100C

The tomatoes

1. Place the tomatoes on a lined baking tray and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours until shrivelled and golden in patches. Cool.

The salad

1. Soak the onions in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and squeeze dry in kitchen paper. This process takes a little of the astringency out of them.
2. Cook the beans in plenty of boiling salted water until done to your liking.
3. Drain and refresh in cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain on kitchen towels.

The dressing

1. Whisk the oil, vinegar and garlic in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, then stir in the mint.

To assemble the salad

1. Toss the beans, onion, fennel and half the tomatoes with the dressing and transfer to a serving platter. Scatter the remaining tomatoes, add a grind of black pepper and the extra mint leaves.