I wouldn't mind vinaigrette (by definition, oil with a little vinegar). Many people use much more vinegar. Mustard is an emulsifier, so probably there to hold things together.

I like geen beans with roasted garlic. A roasted garlic aioli (literally garlic with oil) might be very good. Or, for that matter, a roasted garlic vinaigrette. Or you could go meta with a green bean sauce. Blend some to a fairtheewell, and add some oil to make it stick. Or a lemon vinaigrette. What kind of flavor does it for you?

Hmm the roasted garlic sounds very good--but running the oven just to roast a little garlic in this heat..... I don't know! Any way to "roast" it on a burner in a heavy skillet?

Yes, but I think it would be a lot of heat in the room, as well, and you'd have to tend it. Perhaps an idea best saved for other weather. Or, if you're grilling outside, you could do it there. Wrap oiled garlic with foil, indirect heat, time and temperature similar to oven. Or in the coals of a barbecue.

Blanched green beans, toasted walnuts (in the micro), red onion with raspberry vinegar and walnut oil. Add a touch of honey/ molasses/ maple syrup if you like but raspberry vinegar doesn’t really need it, a bit of mustard if you want. Could pre-pickle the onions if you feel like.

I tried to post one I liked, but Houzz scrambled it. I will try again later.

Trying again - my reply disappeared too ☹️

Learned this one when I worked at a vegetarian restaurant many years ago - it's a fave:

cooked green beans

cooked yellow squash slices

cooked thinly sliced onion

mayo

toasted sunflower seeds

S&P

Simply mix the cooked veggies with enough mayo to coat, season to taste, then stir in the seeds. it's about equal parts beans and squash, with a bit less onion, and enough seeds to give some crunch in every bite. We used to steam the veggies, but I think roasted would be very good.

Other flavors could be added - fresh herbs/spices, mustard, lemon/lime juice, etc., but I've always liked it as-is. It has a nice nutty, savory flavor.

Best I've found so far is to mix some of basic green bean with vinaigrette salad with lettuce, more red onion, feta, pickled pepperoncini, kalamata olives. More like a loaded green salad.

My green beans are coming in now and I do freeze a lot of them--good in winter soups or occasional side. But I always struggle with how to really like them fresh. I'm not a huge green bean fan. I make a lot of other veggies into cold/sald like dishes and then I have a kind of home deli for quick meals when I'm really busy with garden.

There's a Greek dish I've made but it makes so much it's not practical. You cook young green beans with a little onion, water, fresh tomatoes, olive oil for quite a long time--over an hour. Cool and eat. I haven't made it in several summers, but I used to when there were more people to cook for. Hardly worth making for just one person.

When I have my own home grown Rattlesnake pole beans, my favorite way to cook them is simply roasted with olive oil and salt. They're so good we rarely have any leftovers.

I don't find bush green beans to have as much flavor - even roasted, so I often add them to scalloped potatoes and rice dishes like chicken and rice. I do buy Trader Joe's whole organic beans and saute them in browned butter with either basil or tarragon - they're really good that way.

I don't like mayo ( aioli) on beans. I'm more like Lavyvail. I really like a salad of green beans, tuna, radishes and lots of parsley and chives with a simple vinaigrette.

I haven't made this in years. It's a Southern Living recipe. Thanks for making me look through old recipes.

Green Bean, Pecan, and Feta Salad

2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed

1 small purple onion, thinly sliced

2-3 ounces crumbled feta cheese

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Cut green beans into thirds, and arrange in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 5-7 minutes or until crisp-tender. Immediately plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process; drain and pat dry.

Toss together green beans, onion, cheese, and pecans in a large bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Whisk together olive oil and next 5 ingredients. Pour vinaigrette over green bean mixture, and chill 1 hour; toss just before serving.

This sounds good.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/06/pesto-potato-salad-with-green-beans/

Judi, that pecan and feta green bean dish sounds good, I'm going to try that when my green beans start producing.

Coincidentally (or not, I think the internet hears everthing, LOL), I got this in my inbox today, and it's got a lot of things in it with the green beans but it also sounded like something I want to try.

• 2-1/2 cups cut fresh green beans
• 1 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Place green beans in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cover and cook for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and immediately place beans in ice water. Drain and pat dry.
2. For dressing, in a small bowl, combine the cilantro, sour cream, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, cumin, salt and cayenne.
3. In a large bowl, combine the green beans, corn, pinto beans, black beans, red pepper, onion, chiles and olives. Sprinkle with cheese. Pour dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Annie

That reminded me of classic 3 bean salad . I like to add corn kernels and Mexican seasonings to mine, instead of the traditional ones.

I make mine with toasted sliced almonds and feta, similar to this. It is important to have lemon juice in the dressing, for me.

Lars, thanks, I'm saving that one.

My southern cook mom always cooked and dressed our green beans with fat back and that was my only reference to green beans until I married my Italian husband. His mother cooked them just to tenderness and dressed them with white vinegar, olive oil and salt and a good dash of oregano. She added in thin sliced onion.

I now dress the beans as did my MIL. They are so simple and basic and, if you have really good beans, it is all you need.

I will add in some cut up tomatoes at times and sometimes mix with about the same amount of cooked potatoes. I dont find that the tomatoes have a great relationship to the beans, but the are still good and have a nice visual appeal for bringing to the table or pot luck. I have tried adding black olives but found that they really had nothing much to add. Not a lot of point in that.

Even just last evening I had some yellow wax beans that I had cooked to just aldente and one left over potato from the day before. So, last night it was beans with potato. I dont mix anything. I just dress it right from the vinegar bottle and the oil bottle.

The farm where i buy summer produce has both green beans and yellow wax beans as well as flat Italian beans. In order to keep them if we arent going to use them for a couple of days, I will plunge them into a boiling pot for three minutes and then drain them. That way the enzyme action is halted and they will keep very nicely in a clean canning jar in the fridge. Since they are not cooked to mush, they can be further cooked., later, or have them aldente like this. I love having them table or stove top ready in the jar. The longer you leave uncooked fresh produce in the fridge the less fresh it becomes. Doing this delays that process for an extended while. I will do this boiling water plunge to summer squash also if I buy too much. Just let it be in the water a few short minutes, not over cooked.

I do freeze most of my green beans and have for many years. Vrery nice in winter.

annie, that recipie looks like it is a sensory overload. It is like an "everything" bagel, or pizza or burger. That is just too much of too much of everything. Total overload!!!!

Overload?

Corn, fresh beans, two varieties of dried cooked beans. The rest is part of the dressing. What i made yesterday. Fresh snap peas cut the long way, corn, flagolettes, black beans, olives, ,feta and dressed with the minced veg. Very common summer salad here. Many variations. Fresh produce from the garden comes in slow at first. Usually not enough of any one vegetable to feed a family or crowd.

Something simple featuring a fresh bean i also make but usually consider that a side dish, not a salad. Though Lars link is presented more like a simple salad. I like that over greens. All about the fresh beans.

My favorite is an oldie from Sunset Magazine. I no longer have the recipe but have made it so many times, I just wing it. It's really pretty served in a glass bowl.

Green beans cooked until just tender

Black olives - I use small pitted ones left whole - sliced also works

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Artichoke hearts - marinated or plain (frozen or canned) halved or quartered depending on size

Thinly sliced red onion

Lemon vinaigrette

Italian seasoning, fresh herbs or dried is ok, salt, pepper

Sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan (or I sometimes use feta instead).