running with tweezers

the perfect potato

Ever since my trip to Sweden, I've been reminded of the beauty of a perfectly cooked potato. It's something you really take for granted. In lots of recipes, the meager potato gets haphazardly prepared in many ways and coated in stuff...so we lose sight of the toothsome bite of a spot-on spud. The folks in Scandinavia know their potatoes and they're so well versed at cooking them that they barely needed a thing. A little salt, maybe a bit of butter, some fresh herbs and - more often than not - they were a divine side during many a meal.

I was transported back to those meals in Stockholm when we recently dined at City House in Nashville, Tennessee. If you're ever there, do pay City House a visit. Alongside my sweetie's monstrous pork burger-biscuit hybrid was a spoonful of the most perfect potato salad I've ever had. Not bogged down in a lot of mayonnaise, it was tangy and flavorful and surprisingly light. Even once the towel was thrown in on the burger, everyone at the table was picking at the side dish. I came back home and had to recreate it.

The key here is the balance between a grainy mustard and a healthy dollop of prepared horseradish. In an effort to add a little saltiness and interest to the dish at the same time, I thinly sliced some cornichons and added them to the mix. It was a nice little crunch here and there with the perfectly soft potatoes, which I cook following Alton Brown's recipe. They turn out brilliantly every time. This is a great recipe to improve on - add some bacon, whichever fresh herbs you have on hand, some thinly sliced red onion...or you could leave it as is and let the potatoes shine.

Mustard-Horseradish Potato Salad - serves 4 to 6 as a side dish

• 1 pound small new potatoes, skins washed and cut into even halves or quarters - you want your potato pieces to be even so they cook evenly
• 2 tsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 2 tablespoons good quality stone ground mustard
• 20 cornichons, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped chives - feel free to substitute any other herb you'd like
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mustard and horseradish. Set aside until potatoes are cooked and cooled slightly.

- Place cut potatoes in a large stockpot and cover with cold water so that the potatoes are covered by an inch of water. Salt the water and bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Once they're fork tender, drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Allow them to cool slightly and toss with the mustard/horseradish mixture while still slightly warm - this will let them absorb some of the dressing. Gently fold in the cornichons, fresh herbs, and salt & pepper the potato salad to taste. Serve immediately. If you chill this potato salad, bring to room temperature, drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil to re-wet the mixture, mix thoroughly and serve.

Tomato & Peach Quinoa - A Guest Post by the duo from Whisk Away!

An editors note: Before I went on my Scandinavian adventure, I asked two of my favorite bloggers - Katie and Nic from Whisk Away - to guest blog for me while I was gone. Nic held up her end of the bargain, sending me a recipe for an unusual sounding quinoa recipe. I dropped the ball and picked up a box of Kleenex - I got sick at the end of vacation & didn't get around to posting it. I've been thinking about this recipe since I received it...so I made it today for lunch, as you can see above. It's amazing - truly. Original, so flavorful, and a great dish to make for friends that are veggie or gluten-free. Thanks, ladies, for the wonderful recipe contribution and fabulous post. Here goes...

Two sisters, two kitchens, one block apart, one mantra to Whisk Away. Nic keeps it real with health food for her diabetic man. But not to worry, the blog's other half, Kate, keeps the sisters' incredible sweet tooth in business.

It's a rare opportunity in food making, or food blogging, to actually create something never before seen. But if you have a flavor pairing in mind, sometimes you can out cook Google and the legions of cooks to come before. Classic ingredient combinations are a natural place to start. This past fall while traveling through northern Italy I discovered the wonder of pecorino cheese with pear. Since then, I've thrown them together against risotto, pizza, spinach salad and ice cream. No recipe required! It's the ability to translate those combinations across a range of forms that earns you 'good cook' status.

Quinoa, however, has not been the easiest thing to incorporate into my repertoire. And I have really made an effort to bring it into rotation once my #1 recipe tester's pancreas went on the fritz, and began demanding low-carb, low-sugar, generally healthy food. Pasta is out, protein packed quinoa is in. But how to make it summery? Most quinoa recipes highlight its nutty flavor, leaning heavily fall. I can't in good conscience hack into a butternut squash this time of year.

Summer naturally presented me with peaches and tomatoes at the same time. Coincidence? I think not. It's a tried and true flavor combination, that I've seen across caprese-style salads, bruschetta and gazpacho. Could it brighten up a grain sometimes compared to cardboard? My hunch was correct, and Google confirmed this to be the first ever published Peach Tomato Quinoa. And delicious to boot!

Peach Tomato Quinoa - serves 4

• 4 medium tomatoes, diced
• 3 peaches, peeled and diced
• 1 red onion or 2 shallots (skip the Vidalia's, you don't want any additional sweetness)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 1/2 cups broth of your choice (using veggie broth here keep the whole recipe vegetarian or vegan!)
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme

- Dice tomatoes and set in a colander to drain excess liquid. Peel and dice peaches and onion.

- Preheat a saucepan. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and allow to drip most water out. Scrape into the pre-heated pot and let it toast for a minute or two until aroma is released. Add the broth and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. You'll know it's done when the liquid is absorbed and the individual grains show a little spiral.

- Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat, adding diced onion or shallots. Cook to take the raw edge off, about three minutes. Add tomatoes and peaches. Saute for no more than five minutes, or else too much liquid will be released and require extra time to boil off. Add basil.

- Fluff quinoa, and serve topped with peach tomato mixture.

the essence of tomatoes

I've been waiting and waiting to share this recipe with you but, well, there's some traveling going on that has priority these past two weeks. On our first leisurely morning of our trip, I'm up early to work on this post - this is time-sensitive stuff! I made this recipe for a dinner party several weeks ago. It was quite the dinner party dish in that it took some effort and has one of those names that brings about a good bit of guffawing & eye rolling...but there's no better title for this recipe. It is the essence of tomatoes and it's worth every minute in the kitchen. It's arrival at the table inspired a few sighs and definitely savoring of the pure, unadulterated tomato presence.

I changed the original recipe up a bit by adding the cucumber to the mix - both to add another fresh note to the dish but to help give a bit more thin liquid without having to dilute with water. Instead of pulpy tomatoes used as a garnish in the center, I've taken advantage of the beautiful & tiny heirlooms out there right now as a colorful element. If you want the tomato liquid to be more translucent and not as red, you can take the time to continue to strain the tomato water until it's almost clear - that's your call and would make this dish super elegant. For me, I wanted to cue to the tomato in the dish & wanted to spend more time with company than I did with cheesecloth. I need not say you should make this NOW as we are winding down tomato season - don't wait & attempt this with fall or winter tomatoes.

The Essence of Tomatoes - adapted from this recipe found on BBC Good Food - serves 6 as a soup/starter

• 5 pounds large cherry or small roma vine-ripened tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 stick celery , finely chopped
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 small shallot , finely chopped
• half of a fennel bulb, finely chopped
• 1 small garlic clove , finely chopped
• 2 sprigs thyme , roughly chopped
• 4 leaves tarragon , roughly chopped
• handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 pinches cayenne pepper
• 5 drops Worcestershire sauce
• 3 drops Tabasco sauce

      To Serve:

• 1/4 cup small basil leaves, left whole if small or chiffonaded if larger leaves
• 1 1/2 cups small cherry heirloom tomatoes - of any color or type - chopped or left whole if small
• good-quality extra-virgin olive oil

- In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together with 1 tbsp sea salt, cover with cling film and marinate for 6 hrs. Then, in a food processor, pulse the tomato mix in batches until roughly chopped - don't over-chop them to a mush.
- Place three layers of cheesecloth (or a new kitchen cloth) over a large bowl and pour the mix into the cloth. Tie up with string and hang in a cold place for at least 15 minutes over the bowl to collect the tomato essence. Squeeze the mixture in the cloth (you may have to do this in batches, as well) to get out as much liquid as possible. Set aside the pulp. Taste and correct the seasoning, if necessary, then cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- To serve, spoon a quarter of the chopped heirloom tomato into the center of six bowls. Carefully pour the chilled tomato essence around the tomato and garnish with the basil and a small drizzling of olive oil.

Cooking from the Farmers' Market - Cantaloupe in Spiced Syrup

You don't see a lot of cantaloupe recipes. The ones I've seen are for granitas or for slices wrapped in prosciutto. When I was flipping through Williams-Sonoma's Cooking From The Farmers' Market, I noticed several recipes for cantaloupe.  I was instantly transported back to mornings (or afternoons...or after dinner, really) at my house growing up. Cantaloupe and watermelon were two of my dad's favorite things. I never grew up knowing about cottage cheese and cantaloupe. I grew up knowing about putting pepper on melon. My dad always did it - sometimes with a healthy dash of salt, as well. Making this recipe took me back to those times and, well, maybe my dad was onto something.

We're at peak season for cantaloupes - they're best in July and August - and the few I've tasted have been very impressive. Super sweet and perfect texture. I've added a little sprinkle of fresh ground pepper to the final dish, as well as a smattering of herbs that are from the patio garden. The strength of the star anise and the ginger is really complimented by the brightness of the herbs and the lemon. This is just a simple, refreshing and easy dessert that was spot-on during one of the hottest summer weeks I can remember - make the syrup in advance, slice your melon & store it in the fridge and assemble when you're ready.

Cantaloupe in Spiced Syrup - makes 4 servings

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 star anise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and either cubed or sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs, tough stems removed - mint, regular or lemon basil, lemon verbena, lemon thyme, cinnamon basil would be great here
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

- Heat the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the ginger, star anise and lemon juice & zest and simmer for 10 minutes to make a syrup. Let cool then strain. Arrange the cantaloupe into a bowl and drizzle with the spiced syrup. Serve at once.

Cooking From The Farmers' Market - Butter Lettuce with Mustard Vinaigrette

A few weeks ago, the folks at Williams-Sonoma were kind enough to send me a couple of their newest cookbooks to preview. All of them were wonderful - you would expect nothing less from WS. I kept going back to one title in particular, Cooking from the Farmers' Market. It's stunning and extremely well organized. Beautiful images divided into category of type of produce with tons of information about seasonality and varieties of each. I asked if I could share a few recipes with my readers and they've been kind enough to let me, so I'll be posting some of my favorites on the blog all this week. I tell you...choosing just a few to preview with you was a tough choice.

As you can see from the other posts on this blog, I'm a fan of salads. I don't think I've met one I don't like. While it's easy to pile on ingredients and make a show-stopping salad, mastering a perfect simple salad is something every cook needs to know how to do. I love this recipe because it champions just a few ingredients and focuses on great quality - you can't get away with sub-par butter lettuce when it's the only green in the salad.

This recipe also makes a wonderfully flavorful make-it-yourself dressing. I whip together my own dressings all the time and the difference in taste is striking. Once you get in the habit of doing it, you won't bother with a fridge door full of half-used bottles. The tang of the mustard, the herby brightness of the tarragon and the silky texture of the butter lettuce is sublime - gorgeous on it's own but would be an amazing accompaniment to a perfectly roasted chicken.

Stay tuned this week for two other recipes from Cooking From The Farmers' Market, new from Williams-Sonoma. You can get more information about the book, as well as purchase your own copy, here.

Butter Lettuce with Mustard Vinaigrette - makes 4 to 6 servings 

• 2 heads butter lettuce
• 3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian (flat-lead) parsley

- Separate the lettuce leaves. Tear the largest outer leaves in half, leaving the smaller leaves whole. Wash, rinse, and dry.

- In a large salad bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste to make a dressing. Add the lettuce, chives, tarragon, and parsley and toss well. Serve immediately.

the scent of summer

Standing at the kitchen counter earlier this week, I let out this relaxed shudder while chopping away at tomatoes. Twisting each tomato off the vine and smelling that wafting smell - you know which one I'm talking about. The smell of summer that lives between the stem and the fruit of a tomato. It's clean and familiar and homey and so...specific. It's my sign that the season is here and we're living in summer's cornucopia. I've been waiting to be able to make gazpacho - in some form - and this was truly a moment for me.

After the hectic month of work and travel I've been through, I've been seeking out my gazpacho in restaurants and take out containers. I've just not had the fortitude to chop every vegetable on earth, whether I know it's worth it in the end or not. Having two of my favorite girlfriends over for dinner was reason enough to pull down the Vitamix (off a top shelf, mind you) and let it do some of the work on this lovely cold tomato soup. I found the inspiration for this back in winter and have held onto it. It's a great year-round cold soup recipe because the tomato paste helps prop up sub-par tomatoes. In the summer, it adds a smoothness and sweetness to already-wonderful fruit that is just divine.

You can garnish this however you'd like - some croutons, chopped herbs, a drizzle of seasoned oil - but I recommend this whipped cream. The marriage of two of my favorite things - gazpacho and green goddess dressing - is brilliant, herby and fresh...and the silky texture is so refreshing. I've used the Vitamix here to make both components - you can whiz together whipped cream in about 10 seconds. Even if you have to use a blender and a mixer or whisk, this is well worth the time...as little as that is. The complexity of flavors you'll get far outweighs the input so just inhale and enjoy.

Chilled Tomato Soup with Green Goddess Whipped Cream - serves 6 as a soup course - adapted from this recipe on Food & Wine

• 5 pounds ripe red tomatoes - de-seeded and roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp. fruity extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. celery salt
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup loose packed assorted herbs - I used chives, basil, tarragon and oregano
• kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste

- For the whipped cream: In your Vitamix or blender, add the loose herbs. You can roughly chop them beforehand if you feel your blender isn't up to the task. Pour in the cream and whip until it's lightly foamy - you're not looking for stiff peaks but you're looking for a slightly firm texture. Gently scrape down sides of blender and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

- For the soup: If you're using a Vitamix, you can pretty much throw your tomatoes in there and whiz them up in one batch. In a blender or food processor, this will take at least 2 batches. Combine your seeded & chopped tomatoes, olive oil, tomato paste, water, vegetable broth, lemon juice and water. Pureé until very smooth and incorporated. Taste as you go and add kosher salt & pepper, as needed. I would go light on that because the flavors will mingle & change in the fridge. You can always re-season before you serve. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours

- To serve: Take soup and whipped cream out of the fridge. Taste your soup and re-season if necessary. While you're ladling the soup into bowls, the whipped cream will soften slightly. Stir it with a spoon or small whisk until you have an airy, loose cream. Drizzle the cream on top of the soup and serve immediately.

not just for winter

Lentils are a year round thing for me. So easy to prepare, filling, packed with protein...but my favorite thing about them is their versatility. Most people think of heartier, cold weather dishes when it comes to lentils but I truly enjoy them in salads and cold preparations just as well. They really take on any flavor that's given to them with a background taste of earthiness & nuttiness.

In an effort to use up some of the dried legumes and produce that was around the house (so one of us doesn't die under an avalanche erupting from the cabinets), I put together this summery lentil salad. Roughly chopped heirloom tomatoes, the remainder of a red onion, the last hearts of palm in the jar - it all mixed wonderfully with the tangy lentils. To make it a more substantial meal, I topped the salad with a thin slice of pan fried Kasseri cheese. Just a few minutes in a hot pan will slightly melt this cheese and give it a nice char on the outside. You could do this with Halloumi or even a thick slice of Feta, as well. 

Pan Fried Kasseri Cheese & Summer Lentil Salad - serves 2 as a main course

• 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 2 ounce-ish slices of Kasseri cheese (the packages I've seen are 6 oz. so make a third or have leftover cheese!)
  
• 1 cup dried brown lentils
• 2 cups vegetable stock
  
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar 
• 1 large heirloom tomato (any variety) - de-seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 20 Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
• 4 hearts of palm, chopped
• 3 large radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 handful fresh herbs (think basil, marjoram, oregano, even mint) and edible flowers, for garnish
• salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

- In a medium pot, heat the lentils and vegetable stock until they come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender - between 15 and 25 minutes depending on the age of your lentils. Drain, rinse and allow to cool.

- In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 tbsp. of the olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped tomato, sliced red onion, chopped olives, chopped hearts of palm, and radishes. Mix thoroughly & salt and pepper to taste - remember that you are topping this salad with a slightly salty cheese so err on the side of under-salted. You can always add more at the very end. When the lentils have cooled, stir them in along with the herbs and flowers. Cover and allow the flavors to mingle for at least 30 minutes. Taste one last time and re-salt & pepper if you need to.

- To complete the dish, portion out the lentil salad on two plates. Heat the remaining olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, quickly pan fry the Kasseri cheese slices - 1 to 2 minutes on each side should do it. You're looking for a slightly loose, gooey texture but with a nice griddled char on the sides. Place a slice of the fried cheese on each plate of lentil salad. Serve immediately.

keeping it cool

There's no other way to put it, folks: it's brutally hot in Atlanta. Triple digits hot. Glad-to-be-inside-all-day-under-studio-lights-hot outside. Most of my past few weeks have been spent inside in photo studios but I've also had a few days of styling food outdoors, which is quite a challenge. Regardless, they've been some days that have happily ended with a relaxing glass of bubbly or Sauvignon Blanc. It's just too darned steamy for anything else!

I've been daydreaming about this recipe for weeks now. It was inspired by my Athens, Georgia dinner-party buddies The Four Coursemen - if you have a chance to attend one of their sell-out-in-seconds supper clubs...you SHOULD! They served a version of this drink at a recent dinner...and the photo of it made me let out a dreamy sigh. A refreshing, low alcohol cocktail made with Vinho Verde (one of my summertime staples) and prickly pear syrup. Their recipe had a drizzle of St. Germain in the mix. Since I am not a fan of overly sweet drinks, I went the other way and added a splash of blood orange bitters. If you can't find the bitters, just the simple combination of the unusual prickly pear syrup & effervescent white wine would be wonderful enough.

Prickly Pear Cooler - makes 1 well-crafted summer cocktail

• 1/2 ounce blood orange bitters
• 3/4 ounce prickly pear syrup
• 8 ounces Vinho Verde 
• mint springs, basil sprigs or flowers, lemon verbena sprigs or edible flowers - for garnish
  

- Fill an oversized highball glass or stemless wine glass with 8 to 10 ice cubes. Pour in blood orange bitters then prickly pear syrup. Top with Vinho Verde. If you want to leave the drink slightly "layered", do not mix. Otherwise, gently stir together. Garnish & serve immediately...although I will say this drink is delicious when it gets super chilly and sits for a minute - no need to chug it!

off to market

I don't sleep in - even on Saturdays. I've been on early morning photo shoot call time for enough of my life that being in bed at 9 am would be quite the luxury. So while the rest of the house is still tucked in - the new kitty included if we're lucky - I've started taking off to a local farm-stand market or two on Saturday mornings to see what I can see. It's great to see the natural progression of what's for sale - to see what's in season that week and watch what we eat change. Not to get too soapbox-y...but it also makes me feel really good to buy more of our food supplies locally.

When I came across a local farm that had these gorgeous ronde de nice zucchinis, I immediately thought back to one of Helen's posts that made my mouth just water. Stuffed squashes have always been in my repertoire but I hadn't seen these unusual beauties until Helen posted her recipe. They've magically appeared at our market several times since then...and that's as often as I've prepared them.

I've made several incarnations of this dish but this one is my favorite: saffron infused pearl couscous, fresh home-grown herbs, a smattering of local pink-eye peas and a rough chop of perfectly ripe tomato. While I encourage you to make this recipe - it is delicious - this is hopefully something to inspire you to make your own variation. Include whatever looks incredible at your local market. Cut back those herbs growing wild in your garden and use them. Head off to market, get inspired, and be creative.

Farm-stand Stuffed Zucchini Squash - serves 2 as a vegetarian entree 

• 1 1/3 cups pearl couscous
• a pinch of saffron threads
• 2 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock (i use a half - and - half mixture of stock and water)
• a pinch of dried red chili flakes
• 1 medium just-ripe tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup freshly shelled & blanched pink-eye or zipper peas (I quickly boil mine in enough water to cover them for about 15 minutes or until tender)
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped herbs - I've used basil, thyme, oregano and rosemary
• 1/4 cup fresh wild arugula, sunflower sprouts or other greens you have on-hand
• 2 ronde de nice zucchini squash
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

For the couscous: In a small skillet, dry toast your couscous over medium heat until it's just lightly golden toasted. Bring your water/vegetable stock to a low boil in a medium saucepan with a lid. Add the saffron threads, dried red chili flakes and toasted pearl couscous to the boiling mixture. Cover and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed - this was about 12 minutes for me. Once cooked, stir in chopped tomato & pink-eye peas. Taste and add salt & pepper accordingly. Add your fresh herbs and sprouts, reserving a tablespoon or so for garnish at the end.

For the zucchini: Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut the top off of the zucchini at the stem end so you make a little lid. Scoop out the inner flesh of the zucchini - you can discard or save it for another occasion (or you could add it in with the couscous but I did not for styling purposes). Drizzle the inside cavity of each squash with 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Place the hollowed out squashes - and their lids - in an oven-safe baking dish. Cook for about 20 minutes.

To assemble: Being careful not to burn yourself with the warm squash, spoon the couscous mixture into the cavities of the squash until full. Place back in the baking dish in the oven for another 8-10 minutes - you're looking for the squash to be fork tender but not falling apart. When cooked, place on plate and sprinkle the top with some of the remaining sprouts and herbs. Top with the baked lid or prop it up alongside. Serve immediately.This recipe does make a little more couscous that you'd need to fill the squash, which means there's plenty of seconds and leftovers.

my love for yellow

Second to orange (all shades of it - including that obnoxious safety cone version), yellow is my favorite color. It's completely unflattering but I just adore it. Summer squash, lemons - it's the color of some of my favorite foods. An unsung yellow food that I love but never know how to cook are yellow wax beans. I've really only had them in salads mixed with green beans - it's as if folks think these beauties can't stand on their own.

A super splurge bender at Super H Mart (how DO you spend $80 there!? if you want to know, ask me) has our cupboards and fridge fully stocked with all things Asian. Yellow wax beans have great texture and a neutral enough taste that allows them to hang out with some pretty bold flavors. Quickly blanched, they retain their crunch even once dressed in this great miso vinaigrette. Feel free to add other herbs, chopped green onions, some crunchy sprouts, a touch of chopped red chili for heat. I need not say that if you have peanut allergies, please omit them or substitute for a type of nut you can eat.

Miso Wax Bean Salad - serves 4 as a side dish

• 1/2 pound (about 5-6 handfuls) fresh yellow wax beans - ends snipped
• 1 tablespoon dashi miso paste (this kind already has the dashi in it for soup - use whatever kind you have access to)
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1/3 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
• a handful chopped fresh cilantro
• fresh ground black pepper and salt, to taste

- Start a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Have a large bowl full of ice water on hand at the ready to stop the beans from cooking once blanched.

- While the water is coming to a boil, add your miso paste to a small mixing bowl. Drizzle in the rice wine vinegar and sesame oil and whisk it until the miso paste has incorporated into the other ingredients and the dressing is smooth. Taste dressing for salt level and adjust to your liking.

- When your water has come to a boil, drop the trimmed wax beans into the water. Blanch for 1-2 minutes. With a slotted spoon or tongs, pull them out and drop them into the ice bath - this will stop them from cooking further and getting soggy. Leave them in the ice bath for a minute or so then drain the beans thoroughly. 

- On a serving platter, arrange the wax beans in an even layer. Drizzle the dressing over the beans. Top with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro and chopped peanuts. Grind a touch of fresh black pepper over the plate. Serve immediately - the beans will get too soggy if you wait to serve them once they're dressed.