Haricots Verts en Salade/Green Bean Salad with Red Pepper and Flax Seeds

I felt like preparing something refreshing this evening for supper.  I love green beans, and preparing this salad is always quick and easy.  As a young girl, I recall picking green beans from the garden and helping my mom with canning.  I had much success growing them in Canada.  Ten years ago when we arrived in Texas, I had big plans for my vegetable garden.  I soon learned that not all vegetables do well in clay, I think they call it gumbo here.   Green beans are not in my garden this year but that doesn't stop me from eating them.

Ingredients

4 cups fresh or frozen green beans (I use organic frozen from Costco)
1 red pepper diced
1 cup black beans, cooked (soaked night before and cooked in the morning*)
2-3 Tbsp flaxseeds
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped small
pure virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to your liking (about 2 Tbsp each)
salt and pepper to taste
Sheep Feta Cheese (optional)

*I usually cook enough beans to use in other meals for the rest of the week.

Preparation
Steam green beans for 4 minutes. Beans need to be bright green and should still be somewhat crunchy.  Remove from steamer and place in another bowl and let cool.  Once they are cooled, add diced red pepper, chopped garlic, black beans.  Mix ingredients together.  Add oil and vinegar, salt and pepper.  Adding black beans makes the salad more nutritious with its protein and fiber.   Try adding slivered almonds or pine nuts. Want something sweet, maybe some dried cranberries or even sliced strawberries.

This salad can be prepared and served immediately or prepared and chilled in the refrigerator before serving.

Bon Appétit

If you've prepared something similar, please share, we love to try new recipes!

This post is linked to:
The Nourishing Gourmet
Grocery Cart Challenge