I know that I shouldn’t even dare show my face around here after having disappeared for so long… almost two months! But since my holidays post-christmas have been so utterly quiet I finally have the time to be back in the kitchen, cooking, taking pictures and posting. So to ease back into the petitedecadence-ing, I’ll start with a very simple recipe….but an incredibly delicious one! It’s also very french, since its main ingredient are french beans… also known as haricots vertes. (Actually, I have no idea why french beans are called so, I’ll have to look that up.) But I also used garlic and herbs (the classic) boursin. If you don’t know boursin cheese, or don’t have it available around you, you could use any other kind of gournay cheese, or you can make something similar right at home by simply adding finely minced garlic and a variety of fresh herbs to your favorite cream cheese, or even better, homemade cream cheese.
This salad is seriously easy to make and will go well with pretty much anything, from fish to meat to a main dish all by itself, if you’re feeling like a light meal. Serve it with a couple warm slices of rustic bread and a dry white wine, and you’ve got yourself a delicious entrée.
Read more for the recipe.

French bean salad with boursin cheese 
(Own recipe)

2 lbs french green beans
1 cup spinach chiffonade*
1/4 of a boursin cheese round (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup roasted pepitas (pumkin seeds. You can also substitute with slivered almonds or cashews)
1/3 cup raisins of your choice
Olive oil, to taste
White vinegar, to taste
Freshly ground white or green pepper
Salt

*To make chiffonade, stack a few spinach leaves and roll them together lengthwise. Using a very sharp knife cut very thins strips, as thin as you can make them.

Cook the green beans in heavily salted boiling water for about 8 minutes, until tender but still quite firm. Drain and let cool. Once cool, cut them into 1 inch thick pieces. Mix in a bowl along with the spinach, the pepitas, raisins and cheese. Add a splash of olive oil and a splash of white vinegar, season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
Enjoy!