Recipe Source: France, Christine and Steven Wheeler. Barbecues and Salads. Anness Publishing, London, 2002 p. 320
I made this salad for my husband's birthday dinner. This is the dinner he threw himself because it provided an excuse to make ribs. I wanted to serve side dishes that would go well with barbeque, and this one looked like a good idea. It was also pretty simple and straightforward to make. Finally, you can make it ahead of time, which was crucial for me. This dinner was given two days after returning from our trip up to Maine, where we lugged up food for about 50 and for a class I taught as well. The kitchen was an unmitigated disaster and I needed to get it clean – and all the food cooked – before people got there.
I made a few changes. I couldn't find pickled Serrano chilies so I used pickled jalapenos, which in hindsight wasn't necessarily a bad thing. We knew at least one of our guests did not deal well with spicy food. I also used butter lettuce in place of iceberg, because I detest iceberg. I also drastically reduced the amount of olive oil because my husband can't handle that much oil and this was his party. I made up for it by adding about 5 tablespoons of the liquid that the jalapenos had been pickled in, which may have contained some oil but not a lot. Finally, I added some oregano. This salad went over pretty well, and the leftovers held up pretty well for an extra day.
Green Bean and Red Pepper Salad (serves about 10 as a side dish; approx. $0.81/serving)
12 ounces cooked green beans, quartered
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons (approx.) chopped fresh oregano
2 scallions, chopped
1 can sliced canned pickled jalapenos
1 head butter lettuce, shredded
2 ounces mixed olives
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Equipment:
- Large bowl
- Small bowl
- Combine the first 6 ingredients in the large bowl.
- Lay out your shredded lettuce on your serving platter.
- Top with the mixture from the bowl.
- Combine the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in the smaller bowl. Drizzle on top of the salad.
- Top with the olives and serve.

