Bean Salad with Bacon, Tomato

•    1 1/2 pounds trimmed beans (green and yellow wax in our case), cut to 2 to 3 inch long 

•    1 medium red onion, finely chopped

•    2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

•    4 strips of bacon

•    2 tablespoons TTOV's Traditional balsamic vinegar
•    4 tablespoons TTOV’s Basil EVOO
•    1 tablespoon honey ( optional for low-carb, keto diet)
•    1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
•    3/4 cup chopped chives
•    Parmesan cheese shavings
•    Chopped almonds
•    Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Soak chopped red onions in a small bowl of water to help take the edge off the onions. Let sit on the side while you prepare the salad.
Fry bacon in a skillet until crisp. Lay down on absorbent paper to drain off the fat then cut bacon into small bits. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and yellow wax beans to the water and blanch only for about 2 – 3 minutes, until the beans are just barely cooked through, but still crisp. When the beans are ready, drain and transfer immediately into ice water to stop the cooking. The beans will stay crisp and keep their bright color. Drain the beans and the red onions.
To make the dressing: combine Basil EVOO, balsamic, Italian seasoning, honey salt and pepper in a small jar with a lid and shake vigorously to emulsify.
Place the beans, minced red onion, halved cherry tomatoes, bacon, chopped almonds and chopped chives in a large salad bowl. Pour in some of the dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper and refrigerate until ready to serve with more dressing on the side. Enjoy!