Green Bean, Cranberry & Sunflower Seed Salad

This year we are transitioning our Harvest of the Month program to have a seasonal focus, rather than monthly — giving food service providers more flexibility in sourcing Rhode-Island-grown fruits and veggies in their cafeterias. Let’s celebrate summer’s harvest!

Summer

Cheers to summer, with its bright and abundant flavors! Summer is when the hard work of farmers in winter and spring begins to bear fruit — literally. Close your eyes, and you can just taste the juicy berries, ripe tomatoes, plums, peaches, and sweet and spicy peppers. And don’t neglect your greens and veggies! The season’s also serving up crunchy kale, tender bok choi, spicy mustard greens, green beans, leeks, summer squash, celery, and broccoli.

 

Green Bean, Cranberry & Sunflower Seed Salad

Fruit, Other Vegetable, and Meat Alternate Requirements
50 servings (1/2 cup)

Ingredients
5 lbs fresh green beans
1 lb 9 oz dried cranberries
15 oz sunflower seeds, toasted
3 cloves garlic
2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. dijon mustard
1/4 c. + 1 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp pepper
3 gal. water

Instructions

• Trim green beans and cut into 1-inch pieces. See Notes.
• Peel garlic.
• Process the garlic, oil, vinegar, mustard, 1 tsp salt and pepper in a food processor or with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
• Place a bowl of ice water and long-handled strainer next to the stove.
• Bring water and 1/4 cup of salt to a boil in a large pot. Cook the green beans until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with the strainer and plunge into the ice water. let sit for 5 minutes, then drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Add cranberries, sunflower seeds and the dressing to the green beans. Mix until everything is well coated.

Notes

• Use another type of vinegar if you wish.
• Use kitchen shears to trim the stem ends of the green beans.

About this Recipe
We share recipes created by reputable sources and designed specifically for institutional use.

This recipe is from New School Cuisine: Nutritious and Seasonal Recipes for School Cooks by School Cooks