French Green Bean Salad with White Peach

How to Cook Green Beans for Salad

For a good green bean salad, don't overcook the beans. They should stay bright, fresh and slightly al dente (with a bite to them). I used to cook them the traditional French way in a large pan of boiling water, then plunge them into ice cold water. That works, but there's another way that keeps more flavour in the beans.

Raphaël Haumont, my French scientist friend who often writes about the future of food and cooking, explains that green beans already contain a lot of water. Instead of drowning them, cook them with about the same weight of water as beans, with the lid on. For 600g of extra-fine green beans, use about 500ml water maximum.

Cook extra-fine green beans for about 5 minutes. If your beans are thicker, they may need closer to 8-10 minutes. Salt the water or add some bicarbonate of soda near the end of cooking, then drain well. You want cooked, soft beans with a little bite, not floppy green shoelaces.

Can I Use Frozen or Canned Green Beans?

Frozen green beans work well for this salad. Cook them from frozen in a covered pan until just tender, then drain well and cool before adding the vinaigrette. They may need a few extra minutes, depending on their size.

Pre-cooked canned green beans are less crisp, but they work in a pinch. Drain and rinse them well, then pat dry before tossing with the vinaigrette, basil and almonds. For the best flavour and texture, fresh or frozen green beans are better.

Cold French Green Bean Salad Inspired by Alain Passard

The inspiration for this green bean salad comes from Alain Passard, the chef behind L'Arpège in Paris. In Déguster la France by François-Régis Gaudry, Passard pairs green beans with white peach and serves them warm. Simple on paper. Completely surprising on the plate.

I still remember a birthday lunch at L'Arpège where his vegetables from the garden tasted like food of the gods. That sounds dramatic, but I mean it. He has this mad genius way of taking something from the ground and making it taste as if it has had a full orchestra hidden inside it.

This simple salad takes that same idea - green beans with white peach - and makes it easier for home cooking. Instead of serving it warm with butter, I toss the beans in a light vinaigrette with basil, shallot and almonds, then add the peach just before serving. Still French, still cheffy, but far more useful when the weather is doing its best impression of Provence in a frying pan.

Why White Peach Works with Green Beans

White peach is the magic in this green bean salad. Not yellow peach, not nectarine, and definitely not a hard supermarket rock pretending to be fruit. You want a ripe white peach at room temperature, sweet but not sugary, with that delicate floral flavour.

Green beans bring freshness and bite. Basil adds perfume, almonds bring crunch, and the shallot gives the salad a little savoury edge. The white peach lifts the whole thing without turning it into a fruit salad.

Slice the peach thinly and add it at the end. If you toss it too much, it bruises. Poor peach. It didn't ask for rough treatment.

The Simple Dressing: Light Bright and Summery

For this cold salad, drizzle over a simple vinaigrette: extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar (or white balsamic vinegar), fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper. Add finely chopped shallot (or spring onion or half a red onion), then plenty of fresh basil.

White balsamic works especially well because it's softer and slightly sweeter than white wine vinegar. It plays nicely with the peach without taking over.

Bonus summer trick: if you have a few strawberry tops, macerate them in white balsamic vinegar for 2-3 hours. Strain the vinegar and use it in the dressing. It adds a beautiful fruity note without making the salad taste like dessert.
For more, see the strawberry guide.

Make-Ahead Tips

You can make most of this ahead, but add the white peach at the last minute.

Cook the beans, drain them well, then toss them with the vinaigrette, shallot, basil and almonds. You can keep the salad covered in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Before serving, let it come closer to room temperature, then add the sliced peach.

Cold fridge peach has very little charm. Serve it at room temperature so you get that floral flavour.

What to Serve with It

Serve this as a summer side dish with grilled or baked fish, roast chicken, BBQ meats or a picnic lunch. It also works beautifully beside other simple French summer dishes such as:

• Lemon chicken thighs
• Oven-baked sea bass
• Creamy lemon pasta
• Pasta with goat's cheese sauce and walnuts
• Onion tarte tatin

More French Salads & BBQ Sides

• Warm goat cheese salad - with the extra French ingredient
• simple green salad - that changes according to season
• Parisian salad - an easy French café lunch with ham, cheese and mustard vinaigrette
• sautéed green beans with garlic
• French tian - rows of roasted Provençal vegetables

It's worth mentioning salade Niçoise here, too. Many modern versions include green beans and potatoes, but in the stricter traditional Niçoise camp, cooked green beans are a no-no. So rather than sneaking them into a Niçoise and annoying half of Nice, give them their own moment here with peach, basil and almonds.

For more recipes, see side dishes and salads and the French guide to green beans.