Green bean and pancetta salad.

My mom couldn’t stay in Vancouver long enough to spend Christmas with us.  So last week before she left, I made an “early Christmas dinner”.  My mom isn’t very interested in large portions or heavy meat dishes, so I made a salmon wellington as the main dish, and a green bean and pancetta salad as a side.

I quite enjoyed the green bean and pancetta salad.  Any salad that calls for pancetta or bacon is going to be a hit in my books!  This salad is easy to prepare and savoury–a winner.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
• 5 ounces pancetta or bacon, diced
• 1/3 cup minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Direction

Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

Cook pancetta in heavy large skillet over medium heat until crisp, stirring often. Transfer pancetta to paper towels, using slotted spoon. Pour off all but 1 1/2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add shallots and chopped rosemary to skillet and cook over medium heat 2 minutes, stirring often. Add beans and stir to coat. Add oil and lemon juice and stir until beans are heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with pancetta.