Tomato and Three Bean Salad with Vinaigrette

Photo Courtesy of Dave McCoy

Every 4th of July, we invite two groups of our dearest friends to join us for three days of celebration. We convene at my husband's family home on Dewey Beach near Anacortes, Washington. This holiday is one of our favorite times of year because it is truly an All-American event; down to the small town 4th of July Parade, roasting hot dogs and making s'mores over a bonfire, followed by fireworks on the beach. We even dress the kids in 4th of July colors and help them make goodie bags for the treasures they score at the parade. It is a magical experience for all of us.

Photos Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy and Dave McCoy

We had an absolute ball this year, as you can see in the photos above. Of course, with all of the festivities, I would be amiss not to prepare at least one recipe to share with our friends. This year, I decided on Tomato and Three Bean Salad with Vinaigrette to accompany barbecued flank steak and chicken courtesy of our friend Carl. Natalie then followed up with a blueberry cobbler for dessert. The salad recipe follows:

Ingredients:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 shallots, thinly sliced
15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained (or freshly made beans)
15-ounce can butter beans, drained (or freshly made beans)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup Wendy's Vinaigrette
Freshly ground pepper
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For cherry tomatoes less than 1/2 inch in diameter, leave whole; cut larger ones in half. Put tomatoes on rimmed baking sheet cut-side up and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Bake for 40 minutes, until tops begin to slightly char. Set aside to cool.

Photo  Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

Meanwhile, prepare ice-water bath by filling large bowl with ice and water. Bring large pot water to boil. Add green beans and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain, then immediately plunge beans into ice-water bath to stop cooking process and to set beautiful green color of beans. When cooled, drain beans and spread them on clean kitchen towel to dry.

In small skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add shallots and saute until they begin to caramelize, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remove from heat.

In large mixing bowl or salad bowl, combine green beans, kidney beans, butter beans and parsley, then add shallots and tomatoes, including any juices. Stir gently to combine, then drizzle vinaigrette over everything. Toss gently until everything is evenly coated. Season with pepper, then taste and adjust seasoning. Squeeze lemon wedges over salad just before serving.

Wendy's Vinaigrette-
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, minced
1/2 tsp Veganshire or Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

In small bowl, combine lime juice, vinegar, mustard, shallot and Worcestershire Sauce and whisk together. Slowly add olive oil in thin stream, whisking constantly until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Store tightly covered in refrigerator for up to one week.

This salad is delicious! I chose to prepare the butter beans from scratch but used canned kidney beans. Regardless of this difference in preparation, both types of beans provided the perfect texture. The green beans were a wonderful addition to this recipe. I have never considered putting legumes and green beans together but it really works beautifully. My favorite part of the recipe however, was the roasted tomatoes. My oh my..... roasting already sweet cherry or grape tomatoes is a fantastic idea. They were beyond sweet and juicy.

We also enjoyed the vinaigrette. Lime juice and Worcestershire Sauce make a dynamic dressing and this particular vinaigrette would lend itself to several applications, including meat marinade or green salad dressing. One tip for this recipe; don't think of the lemon wedges as optionional. The brightness of the lemon juice adds an integral flavor profile to this dish.

Recipe Source:
"Pure Vegan" by Joseph Shuldiner
Pages 131-133, 86