Green Bean and Shitake Salad with Lemon and Miso
This is a great salad as you head out of the summer when the French beans are fine and delicious, and mushrooms are readily available. I have been known to use porcini for this, but for those of you not living in rural Tuscany, shitake are the ideal choice.
Serve alongside salmon or soba noodles.
INGREDIENTS
200g French beans
300g Shitake mushrooms, wiped clean and trimmed
1 clove of garlic, finely grated
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1tbsp mirin
1tsp soy sauce
2 tsp miso
Zest of a lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, Uliva from Frantoio Riva is a wonderful choice as it has the cool climate elegance to allow the other flavours to each play a part.
METHOD
Begin by lightly crushing the sesame seeds with a pestle and then to this, add the grated garlic and grind together. The texture will still have some fine pieces, which is perfect. Then mix in the mirin, soy, 1 tsp of miso and the extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.
Meanwhile, blanch the green beans in boiling water for a few minutes depending on how you like them. To me, they are best with a slight crunch (4-5 minutes). Once cooked, drain and then refresh in iced water to stop them from cooking further.
For the mushrooms, slice them finely and then put them in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and turn them regularly until they begin to soften and take on the slightest colour. Then stir through a tsp of miso.
Combine the beans and mushrooms in a bowl and dress thoroughly, adjusting as needed. Finish with the lemon zest and serve alongside a piece of fresh fish, salmon is particularly good.