A Rainbow Salad For The End Of Summer

by Dana Jacobi, for The American Institute for Cancer Research

Farmers’ markets bring a refreshing breath of the countryside into the concrete and steel of big cities like New York. Even if you live in a smaller city, or in a suburb where lawns and backyards spread out, so much of what you see every day has been planned, cleared and paved over. For me, walking between heaps of honest green snap beans, pyramids of beautiful rose-and-white radishes and baskets of shiny peppers is a necessary, sanity-preserving antidote to living surrounded by so much that is man-made.

Now, after Labor Day, I realize that all of this will soon be gone: the aromatic basil, the tasseled ears of corn grown by my favorite farmer and the multi-hued heirloom tomatoes, each variety with its own unique flavor.

It makes me want to get my fill by eating like a farmer, which means serving inch-thick slabs of tomato cut from two-pound beefsteaks, whole-wheat crostini spread with fresh goat cheese and showered with chopped fresh basil, and a surfeit of sugar-sweet corn.

To savor even more of the sun-soaked rainbow of vegetables so abundant at the end of summer, I also make this succulent salad. You can vary it, based on what looks best at the farmers’ market or supermarket where you shop. For example, you can use flat Romano beans, tiny currant tomatoes, or chopped shallots in place of the yellow beans, grape tomatoes, or sweet onion. Sometimes, I serve this salad on a platter lined with lettuce leaves, bathing them in the tangy dressing that collects in the bottom of the mixing bowl.

Grape Tomato, Green and Yellow Bean Salad - Makes 4 servings (about 4 cups).

* 1/4 pound green beans, ends snapped off
* 1/4 pound yellow beans, ends snapped off
* 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
* 1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
* 2 Tbsp. chopped chives
* 4 tsp. white wine vinegar
* 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
* Pinch of ground black pepper
* 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
* 1/2 cup basil leaves, loosely packed

Cook the beans in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain the beans in a colander. Immediately plunge the beans into a bowl of ice water to set their color and crisp them. Drain the beans, pat dry and place them in a medium bowl. Add the tomatoes, onion and chives.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, salt and pepper until the salt dissolves. Whisk in the oil. Pour the dressing over the salad, and toss until evenly coated. Let the salad sit for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Divide the salad among 4 salad plates. Sprinkle one-fourth of the basil over each salad, and serve immediately.

Note: Save any dressing that collects in the bottom of the bowl as the salad sits. It is good the next day, with a little olive oil added, as dressing on a leafy green salad.

Per serving: 59 calories, 3 g. total fat (less than 1 g. saturated fat), 9 g. carbohydrate, 2 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 301 mg. sodium.