Gordon Ramsay’s green bean salad is crunchy blanched beans with toasted flaked almonds in a roasted garlic, Dijon mustard and honey dressing, ready in 35 minutes for around £1.50 per serving.
In Ultimate Cookery Course, Ramsay calls this his “Green Bean Salad with Mustard Dressing” and pairs it with grilled meat or fish. The roasted garlic is what sets it apart: twenty minutes in the oven turns it sweet and mellow enough to form the actual base of the dressing.
Blanching is where most people go wrong. Ramsay specifies 90 seconds in boiling water, then straight into cold water to stop the cooking. Any longer and the beans lose their snap. You want them bright green with a crunch that resists your teeth, not soft and army-coloured.
Gordon Ramsay Green Bean Salad
Course: Salads, Sides6
servings10
minutes25
minutes35
minutesFrom Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course: crunchy blanched green beans tossed in a roasted garlic, Dijon mustard and honey dressing with toasted flaked almonds. A summer side that takes ten minutes once the garlic is done.
Ingredients
1kg (2 lb 3 oz) green beans, topped and tailed
200g (7 oz) flaked almonds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dressing:
2 small heads of garlic
2 to 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp runny honey
150ml (5 fl oz) olive oil
Directions
- Roast the garlic: Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan / Gas 4). Wrap the garlic heads in foil and roast for 20 to 25 minutes until soft. Remove and leave to cool.
- Blanch the beans: Plunge the green beans into plenty of boiling salted water for 1½ minutes until the rawness is removed but they are still crunchy. Refresh immediately under cold running water, then drain.
- Toast the almonds: Lightly toast the flaked almonds in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until golden. Leave to cool.
- Make the dressing: Squeeze the roasted garlic flesh from the skins and mash with 1 tablespoon of vinegar until smooth. Add the mustard and honey, mix well, then slowly pour in the olive oil, stirring to thicken. Taste and season, adding more vinegar if needed.
- Toss and serve: Mix the beans and almonds together with a little seasoning, pour over the dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
FAQs
Why roast the garlic instead of using it raw?
Raw garlic in a dressing is harsh and one-dimensional. Roasting for 20 minutes caramelises the natural sugars and breaks down the allicin that causes the burn. The result is sweet and nutty enough to form the actual base of the dressing, not just an accent in it. You use two whole heads here, which would be aggressive raw but is mellow once roasted.
How does this compare to Ottolenghi’s green bean salad?
Ottolenghi takes his in a Middle Eastern direction: crispy fried garlic, capers, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and fresh tarragon from his Jerusalem cookbook. Ramsay stays French: roasted garlic, Dijon mustard, honey and toasted almonds. Ottolenghi’s has more spice and crunch from the fried elements. Ramsay’s is smoother and sweeter from the roasted garlic base.
Does Ramsay have a second green bean salad?
Yes. His Roasted Red Onion Vinaigrette with Green Bean Salad, also in Ultimate Cookery Course, uses runner beans, French beans and sugarsnap peas dressed in a sherry vinegar and roasted red onion dressing. It is rustier and more robust than this mustard version, built around the sweet charred onion rather than the garlic and honey.
What should you serve green bean salad with?
Ramsay writes that it jazzes up green beans “during the summer months” and pairs it with grilled meat or fish. It works well alongside roast lamb, barbecued chicken or a piece of pan-fried salmon. For a salad table, serve it with his piccalilli potato salad and crunchy coleslaw for three textures that do not overlap.
Can you use frozen green beans?
They work in a pinch but will never have the snap of fresh. Frozen beans have already been blanched before freezing, so they only need 30 seconds in boiling water to heat through. Do not blanch them for the full 90 seconds or they turn to mush. The dressing and almonds still carry the dish, but the texture will be softer throughout.
Does green bean salad keep well?
The dressed salad holds for a day in the fridge without wilting, which makes it better than most leaf-based salads for picnics and buffets. The beans stay crunchy because the acid in the dressing is balanced by the honey and oil. Store the almonds separately though, as they soften overnight. Scatter them over just before serving. Browse his green salad recipes for more options that hold up well.
