Summers in Texas are a celebration of vegetables and fruits — creating salads out of the rainbow of colors available to us is my favorite way to enjoy them.
Roasted squashes, grilled peaches, crisp cucumbers can be paired with nuts, seeds and simple dressings. And soon, local heirloom tomatoes will make an appearance — gazpacho, salad or chutney, there is no wrong way to enjoy a ripe tomato in its peak season. Keeping marinated or roasted vegetables stashed in the refrigerator to toss with greens or rice makes for a deliciously simple dinner, especially after long hours working in a restaurant.
These beautiful, flavorful purple beans from Animal Farm in Cat Springs turn green when cooked but when marinated keep most of their color. They will be around for a while, so go find them on Saturdays at the Urban Harvest farmers market. Here is a salad that takes minutes to make that you can enjoy for days.
serves 4
ingredients
1 pound purple or green beans
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons cane sugar (optional)
2 tablespoons toasted chopped peanuts
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
15 to 20 curry leaves
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 cup herbs (such as basil, mint, cilantro, or parsley)
instructions
Cut the beans in half, lengthwise. Combine with chives, lime juice, sea salt, sugar and peanuts. Let them sit for about an hour.
In a small frying pan, heat the sesame oil, add the garlic and cook for a few seconds. Then, add the curry leaves and pop the mustard seeds. Immediately take the oil off the heat and add the chili powder. Fold this mixture into the beans along with basil leaves. Serve cold or at room temperature.
notes & variations
Be careful the oil is not too hot or the chili powder will burn, turning dark and bitter.
Instead of sesame oil, use peanut oil or any other neutral oil.
Also in Recipes
