Bean Medley Salad

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lbs fresh beans (any combination of green, yellow wax, or purple)
• ¼ cup sundried tomatoes
• 1 ½ tsp grainy dijon mustard
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• ¼ cup plus 1 TBS olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp chopped thyme leaves
• 1 cup cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed
• ½ cup Kalamata olives, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, quartered
• ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
  
• ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes (optional)
• 1 TBS coarsely chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS:

Fill a large saucepan with 4 quarts of well salted water, and place over high heat to come to a boil.  Meanwhile, prepare the green beans by trimming off and discarding their woody stems.  Place sundried tomatoes into a small heatproof bowl. When the water comes to a boil, carefully ladle out enough water to cover the sundried tomatoes, and set them aside for a nice hot soak. In the remaining boiling water, cook beans until tender crisp, about 3-5 minutes, being careful not to overcook. Drain beans, rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking further, and then pat dry and set aside to cool. When the soaking tomatoes are plump and tender, drain them well, coarsely chop them and set them aside. 

While waiting for the water to come to a boil, make the vinaigrette. Whisk the Dijon and lemon juice together in a small mixing bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Season with salt and ground pepper, to taste, and then whisk in the fresh thyme. 

Place green beans, sun dried tomatoes, cooked chickpeas olives, and artichoke hearts into a large bowl. Drizzle in the dressing, and toss to coat well. Finally, add the feta cheese, tomatoes and parsley, and gently toss to mix. Serve chilled or at room temperature.