This salad can be served either warm or at room temperature and is truly a lovely mix of texture and flavor. It is a garden must! Romano beans are the long, flat, wide green beans, but regular green beans can be substituted if you cannot find Romano beans.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

¾ pound fresh Romano beans, tips trimmed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
½ cup basil leaves, sliced thin
Juice and zest of one lemon
¼ cup olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Cracked pepper

PREPARATION

In a steamer, steam the green beans until al dente or just about done. While the beans are cooking, combine all other ingredients (except salt) in a large bowl and mix well. When the beans are finished cooking, place the hot green beans in the large bowl on top of the mixture. Do not stir. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. This will cook or warm the other items and the green beans will finish cooking at the same time. After 5 minutes, gently stir the mixture and serve warm or let stand and serve room temperature.