2 Bean and 2 Lime Salad – Another Ottolenghi Flavour Bomb!

We were thrilled to come across another Ottolenghi Flavour Bomb, yes that’s the way to describe his recipes. This 2 Bean and 2 Lime Salad really packs a punch. It’s refreshing,clean, vibrant with kaffir lime leaves and fresh lime juice, heady with mint and coriander, a smidge of garlic, a tickle of fresh green chillies, and popping with toasted black sesame seeds.

Ottolenghi Flavour combinations are a revelation and this 2 Bean and 2 Lime Salad doesn’t disappoint.

At a Glance This Is What You Need To Make Another Ottolenghi Flavour Bomb!- 2 Bean and 2 Lime Salad

Ottolenghi Flavour

In our opinion, Yotam Ottolenghi is the master of marrying ingredients together for salads that blend so well, and injects amazing flavour combinations. So simple, but utterly delicious!

We made this salad when a friend gave us a copy of Ottolenghi’s book titled ‘Simple’, and couldn’t wait to test-drive numerous recipes. Check out the amazingly simple, but delicious beetroot salad that we made on the same day.

How to Cook Beans

Green beans for this salad need to be just cooked and tender-crisp, still with a little ‘snap factor’, and not limp, and soggy.

We like the look of the beans tail so we only top the beans.

Prepare a bowl with ice-cold water to plunge the beans into.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add the salt and beans.
Cook for 3-4 minutes (depending on the size of the beans, if you’re lucky enough to buy young baby beans they won’t take as long to cook).
Set a timer and pluck a bean to test their tenderness after a minute or two. You want the beans to still have a bite to them. Add the edamame beans and just cook them for 30 seconds or so.

Immediately drain the beans and edamame and tip into your bowl of iced water to stop them from cooking further.

Drain the beans after a few minutes in the ice bath and tap the colander to discard as much water as possible.

Place the beans on a clean tea towel and gently massage them to remove the last of the water.

Edamame Beans

Edamame beans are shelled baby soybeans that are so cute and tasty in this salad.
We used frozen edamame beans that we bought from Woolworths In Australia.
They’re already shelled and ready to eat, but we just like to give them a super quick dip in the boiling water for seconds to brighten the colour before draining.

Switch Up The Vegetables

Beans and edamame work brilliantly but you can switch other veggies such as:
• frozen green peas, blanched
• fresh asparagus, blanched
• baby spinach leaves used fresh, not blanched
• watercress, fresh
• artichoke hearts, tinned
• broccoli florets blanched

Steps To Make Another Ottolengi Flavour Bomb

Kaffir Lime Leaves

Kaffir lime leaves are aromatic, with an intense citrus flavour.

Use either fresh, or frozen but not dried leaves for this salad dressing.
They’re a little on the ‘woody’ side so they need to be very finely sliced, then chopped.

Buying a pack of fresh lime leaves invariably leaves you with far more leaves than you’ll need for a recipe. The good news is they freeze brilliantly ready to use straight from the freezer. Just pop them into a ziplock bag and you’re good to go. 

Can I Make Green Bean Salad Ahead Of Time

Yes you can. Go right ahead and blanch and pat dry the beans. We like to use a plastic bag to keep them in the fridge ready to assemble without any additional washing up.
Make the kaffir lime paste and store in an airtight container.
Have your herbs plucked and pop into a plastic bag.

Watch How To Make  Another Ottolenghi Flavour Bomb! – 2 Bean and 2 Lime Salad

Still Hungry?

 Subscribe to our newsletter and follow along on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest updates.. 

Hot Tip For Preparing Ahead

If preparing ahead of time just don’t add the fresh lime juice until right before serving. This keeps the salad vibrant as the lime juice loses its lively and bright flavour over time and also cooks the beans.

This salad is best made, dressed and eaten on the same day. However we made a huge batch and ate it over two days but the lime flavour was a little lost in the dressing.

Over time the lime juice changes the colour of the beans from vibrant green to a sort of khaki colour which definitely affects the visual appeal. Still tasty, but not quite ‘on point’.

What To Serve This Ottolenghi Flavour Bomb – Bean Salad

This little winner of a salad goes with lots of dishes. It’s perfect for serving buffet style with:

• grilled or steamed fish
• Oven Baked Finger Licking Honey BBQ Chicken
• Crispy Garlic and Parmesan Panko Chicken Thighs – Easy
• Soy Star Anise Braised Chicken
• Best Ever Maple Glazed Bacon Chicken
• Red & Green Apple Slaw Recipe: 7 easy steps!
• Orange and Sage Turkey Roulade
• Baked Ham with Spiced Orange Glaze

Don’t forget to rate this recipe and let us know what you thought when you make this fabulous Ottolenghi Flavour Bomb! – 2 Bean and 2 Lime Salad in the reviews below

Continue to Content

Yield: serves 6, or more as part of a buffet

2 Bean and 2 Lime Salad - Ottolenghi Flavour Bomb -

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

2 Bean and 2 Lime salad is simple to make yet vibrant and complex in flavour.

Another amazing recipe slightly adapted by us from the amazing 'flavour master' Yotam Ottolenghi, from his hugely popular cookbook titled 'Ottolenghi Simple'.

Print

Ingredients

Lime Paste - Dressing

• 6 large kaffir limes leaves, stems removed
• 2 limes, finely grate the zest to get two teaspoons, then juice limes to get 2 tablespoons juice
• 30g- fresh coriander (1 1/2 ounces) - see notes
• 10g fresh mint leaves (1/3 ounce) - see notes
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 60ml olive oil (2 fluid ounces)
• 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Salad Ingredients

• 600g green beans, trimmed (1 1/3 pounds)
• 200g frozen shelled edamame beans (7 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
• lime wedges to serve - optional

Instructions

Lime Paste - Dressing

1. roll lime leaves into a cigar shape and slice into strips as thinly as possible, then chop the strips
2. place lime leaves, zest, 2/3 of the coriander, mint, garlic, olive oil, chillies and salt into a small processor or use a stick blender
3. blitz until finely chopped, then set aside

Salad Ingredients

1. bring a large pot of salted water to the boil
2. meanwhile prepare a large bowl with ice-cold water
3. add beans to boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes, add the edamame beans for the last 30 seconds
4. immediately strain in a colander and plunge beans into cold water for 3-4 minutes (this halts the cooking process)
5. strain beans and tap the colander to shake off residual water
6. spread out a clean tea towel and gently pat beans dry
7. place beans in a bowl and spoon the lime paste over the beans, pour the lime juice over the beans and stir to combine - see notes
8. sprinkle with black sesame seeds and remaining coriander leaves
9. serve with optional lime wedges and enjoy!

Notes

• Ottolenghi has given a weight for the coriander and mint so the dressing is balanced, we know this may be a pain to some readers but it's what gives the salad dressing the right balance
• try to squueze the lime juice as close to serving as possible otherwise the lime juice loses its vibrancy