Just Had the Best Salad of My Life- Tucos' Green Bean- Tuna Salad with Black Olive Dressing

I just had the best salad of my life!  Our new Green Bean-Tuna Salad with Black Olive Dressing. 

A few months ago I had a wonderful green bean salad at Shady Lady in Sacramento.  Chilled, cooked green beans, with chopped sweet peppers, in a nice vinaigrette.  I loved it and it made me think about adding a green bean salad at Tucos.

After spending about a month thinking about green beans (no, I'm not kidding), I came up with an idea to ceviche the beans.  Cilantro, sweet onion, hot peppers, lime juice seemed like a wonderful way to frame the chilled, cooked green beans..... Failure.  The lime juice never really wanted to marry with the green beans, neither did the hot peppers, and the texture was, how do I say it politely, BORING.  Back to the drawing board.  Another week or so thinking about green beans and then it came to me while driving- green beans, hard-cooked egg, really good canned tuna, sweet onions.  Today I put the idea on the plate, adding nicoise olives, creating a garlicky, lemony, dressing with black olives and the results were spiritual...  It has to be the absolute best possible way to enjoy a green bean.

Recipe for the Black Olive Dressing:

1C  Mojo Sauce (see prior posting for recipe)

1/4 C Olive Oil

2 TBS Black Olives (prefer nicoise)

Blend until emulsified

Build the salad to taste with however much green beans, sweet onion, hard-cooked eggs, tuna, nicoise olive (or other pitted, feisty black olive) and fresh chopped parsley.  Apply dressing generously.  Careful with the salt since the black olive dressing is a bit salty already (from the olives).