Choose the very best ingredients you can find for these simple, elegant backyard salads. Salt, sweet, summer.
Spanish Dancer
(Nectarine Salad with Haricots Verts and Cured Ham) From “Plum Gorgeous,” by Romney Steele. Serves 3 or 4.
Ingredients
1/2 pound haricots verts
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar or rice wine vinegar
Few leaves each of basil and mint, finely slivered
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch sugar (optional)
1 bunch watercress, rinsed and trimmed
2 to 3 nectarines, pitted and sliced into wedges
2 watermelon radishes, halved and thinly sliced
Several thin slices cured ham
1/4 cup Marcona almonds
Directions
Blanch the haricots verts in boiling salted water until tender to the bite, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water, then spread out on a plate or sheet pan to cool.
Whisk together the shallot, olive oil and vinegars; add the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of water and a pinch of sugar, if needed, to soften the vinaigrette.
Place the beans in a bowl with the watercress, nectarines and radishes; gently toss with the vinaigrette. Arrange salad on plates, tucking a couple slices of ham into each. Scatter with the almonds.
Radish, Cucumber and Mint Salad
From “Forgotten Skills of Cooking,” by Darina Allen (Kyle Books). Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 fresh cucumber
18-24 radishes, trimmed and quartered
18 yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
A handful of fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon honey
Directions
Slit the cucumber lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a pointed teaspoon. Cut each side lengthwise again, and then into 1/4-inch slices at an angle. Add the radishes and tomatoes to the cucumber with the mint leaves. Whisk the oil and vinegar together with the honey, and season with a few flakes of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle over the vegetables and toss.
Green Bean and Purslane Salad
From “Italian Family Dining,” by Edward Giobbi and Eugenia Giobbi Bone. The authors write, “Purslane can be found in some green markets, but before purchasing it, take a look in your garden. Purslane is a weed with thick, round leaves and grows in a crawling pattern.” Serves 4.
Ingredients
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and broken in half
1/2 cup purslane, with tough stems discarded
2 medium tomatoes, preferably semi-ripe, cut into wedges
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the beans and cook until they are tender, about 5-7 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.
In a salad bowl, combine the beans with the purslane, tomatoes, onion, oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste, and toss well.
Visit Eugenia Bone’s preserving and cooking blog for tips, tricks and recipes for putting up nearly everything:
