📍 Where this dish comes from: Baden (Rhine plain)
Discover the history of this region →
Discover the history of this region →
The Swabian green bean salad is a master class in the German hot-dressing technique — pouring hot rendered bacon fat directly onto dressed vegetables to create a warm, integrated sauce that sits beautifully between a salad and a warm vegetable dish, the Swabian warm salad technique at its most brilliant. The vinegar-softened beans become lightly wilted under the warm fat, and every bean is glossed with a coating of sharp, smoky, tangy dressing. Addictively good, impossibly simple.
What You’ll Need
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 245kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g French beans (haricots verts) trimmed
- 200 g smoked bacon diced small
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp whole-grain mustard
- 1 small red onion very finely diced
- 3 tbsp fresh savory or parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Blanch beans in well-salted boiling water 4–5 min until just tender. Drain.
- Whisk both mustards, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Toss with warm beans and red onion.
- Fry bacon until crispy and all fat rendered. Do NOT drain.
- Pour hot bacon and fat over the dressed beans. Toss immediately.
- Scatter fresh savory. Serve within 5 minutes while still warm.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 245kcal | Protein: 14g | Fat: 18g | Fiber: 3g
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Health Benefits
- Green beans are a source of vitamin K, silicon, and kaempferol, compounds studied for their potential role in bone health.
- The warm dressing helps deliver fat-soluble nutrients from the beans alongside the bacon fat.
- Savory has traditionally been paired with beans in German cooking and is thought to help ease digestion.