Green Bean Tomato Onion & Basil Summer Salad

1 lb fresh green beans
1 small sweet onion cut into thin slivers
2 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
generous amount of basil leaves thinly sliced
Dressing:
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Lemon juice
2 tsp mined Garlic
1/2 tsp Oregano, ground
1/2 tsp Salt

Instructions;
Start water boiling in a vegetable steamer or pot with a steaming rack while you trim the beans on both ends and cut them into pieces about 2 inches long. (I do this by gathering an handful of beans that are standing up straight and letting them fall down on to the cutting board, so the ends are even. Trim that end and then turn them over and do the same thing with the other end.)
When the water starts to boil, steam beans for 5 minutes, then drain and immediately put them in a bowl of ice water. (Some beans are tougher than others, so I might test one for doneness after 5 minutes to see what you think.) Let beans cool in the ice water about one minute, then drain immediately into a colander placed in the sink.
While beans are cooking, cut cherry tomatoes into halves and cut the onion into thin slivers. When beans are draining, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and salt to make the dressing. Wash fresh basil leaves and spin dry in a salad spinner (or dry with paper towels), then cut the basil into thin strips. (I used my beloved Herb Scissors to cut the basil.)
Remove drained beans from the colander into a bowl large enough to toss ingredients together. Add the cherry tomatoes and onions and toss ingredients together. Toss with desired amount of dressing and then gently mix in the sliced basil. Season salad to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper and serve.

Serving Size: 6

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user GRAMCRACKER46.