Green Beans and Sweet Onion Salad with Persimmons and Preserved Lemon

I've been having fun this week with my new best friends sweet onions, preserved lemons and persimmons. This combination, with some crunchy green beans and my standbyes toasted pine nuts and honey-ginger-lime dressing, made a refreshing side to a simple grilled steak the other night. The colors were especially cheering and helped us believe that Spring is truly only weeks away that .

Green Beans and Sweet Onion Salad with Persimmons and Preserved Lemon. with Honey-Ginger-Lime Dressing
Serves 4.

• 1/2 lb green beans
• 1 Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 4 dried apricots, sliced in thin strips
• 1/2 persimmon, peeled and sliced in thin crescents
• 4 T pine nuts
• 2 tsp blood orange zest
• 4 strips roasted red pepper
• 3/4" fresh ginger, peeled, minced
• 1 quarter of a preserved lemon
• 2 T fresh lime juice
• 6 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T honey
• 2 tsp minced cilantrosalt, hot sauce to taste

Slice the onion thinly and soak it for about 30 minutes in water to cover with the 1/4 tsp sugar mixed in. Drain and set aside.

Trim and blanche the beans in rapidly boiling water about 3 minutes, 'til they are still firm but no longer raw. Drain them and plunge in an ice water bath to cool. Drain, toss in olive oil, hot sauce and salt to taste.

Toast the pine nuts in a dry sauté pan over high heat, stirring constantly, until they turn brown and start to char, 8 - 10 minutes. Cool on a paper towel.

Scrape out the pulp from the preserved lemon and discard. Cut the lemon rind in thin crescents.
Whisk the ginger, lime juice, olive oil and honey to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and hot sauce.

T0 assemble, lay a bed of the onions on each plate and top with a handful of the beans. Add the preserved lemon, apricot, persimmon and pepper strips, scatter on the pine nuts, zest and cilantro and drizzle with the dressing.