Roasted String Beans with Cherry Tomatoes and Shallots

Now that we have progressed into summer I am so happy to hit the produce section in the grocery store each week. Without fail, I have to pick up a carton of yummy heirloom cherry tomatoes. In addition to being delicious and each having their own unique flavor, their different shades of color really class up whatever dish you put them in. I had some string beans sitting in my vegetable drawer right next to the tomatoes so it wasn't hard to put two and two together that these babies needed to hop in the roasting pan together. You can probably get this whole thing into your oven in about 5 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1.5lb string beans, washed and trimmed
• 2 pints of cherry tomatoes (preferably heirloom)
• 3 large shallots, peeled and thickly sliced vertically
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• Fresh herbs of your choice (I used chopped tarragon, rosemary, and lemon thyme)

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine the string beans, cherry tomatoes, and sliced shallots in a large roasting pan.
3. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil.
4. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and some fresh ground pepper, to taste.
5. Take any fresh herbs you like and sprinkle them over top. (you could substitute with dry if that's all you have - thyme and rosemary work well)
6. Give the pan a good few shakes to mix and coat the veggies in oil. (You could even add a few splashes of lemon juice for some extra flavor.)
7. Roast about 25-30 minutes on a middle rack in the oven, until the string beans are soft and the tomatoes have blistered. Check the pan a few times while roasting and shake again to coat with the oil so none of the veggies burn.

Before

After