Cold Green Bean Salad with Feta and Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon sextra-virgin olive oil
• tablespoon sred wine vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon schopped fresh basil
• large clove garlic, minced, or to taste
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• pound fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup scherry tomatoes, halved
• tablespoon schopped red onion, or to taste

Instructions

1. Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a jar and allow to blend overnight.
2. Toast almonds in a small dry skillet over medium heat until lightly browned, flipping often, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a plate and let them cool completely.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until tender crisp, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beans to a bowl of ice water. Drain well, pat dry (you want the bean as dry as possible), and place the beans into a large bowl. Add feta cheese, tomatoes, and red onions; mix to combine.
4. Pour dressing over the green beans and sprinkle with toasted almonds; mix to combine. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.

Tips

It is very important to make the dressing the night before to let all the flavors blend. I used speared almonds, not the flat slivered kind. You can toast the almonds the night before, put in a resealable bag, and leave on the counter. Do not put them in the refrigerator. This salad tastes best if assembled the same day as it's being served, but is awesome leftovers the following day.