Spanish Green Bean Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs green beans, trim ends and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 ounces red bell peppers, roasted, skinned and diced (in the USA, you can buy this in a jar as pimiento)
1/4 cup olive oil (or more)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (white vinegar is also okay)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 small red onion, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped finely
1 -2 teaspoon sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
shredded lettuce, to serve

Preparation

Cook beans in the microwave for 6-7 minutes until crisp-tender. Or you can cook in a pan with a small amount of boiling water.
Put the next 9 ingredients (dressing) in a jar with a lid. Cover and shake well.
Pour dressing over beans, stir well and refrigerate (I usually put this all in a container with a tight-fitting lid and shake the dickens out of it).
Serve over shredded lettuce -- at whatever temperature you prefer. It takes at least an hour for this to come to room temperature after being in the fridge.