Summer is definitely my favorite time of year: beach trips and endless hours spent outside are just a couple of the reasons I wish the season could last forever. Another thing that makes summer summer is the bounty at the farmers market, which I frequent at least once a week. I cannot get enough! Right now is the best time, because pretty much everything is available – heirloom tomatoes of all shapes and sizes, sweet as candy baby peppers, fuzzy peaches, beans of every variety (pole beans! cranberry beans! purple beans! wax beans!) – it truly makes me blissfully happy. In order to savor all the tastes of summer, I wanted to share the salad I’ve had on repeat for lunch and dinner. Not only is it stunning (talk about eating the rainbow!), it’s easy and delicious to boot. For a more filling main course, I add tuna soaked in olive oil or a poached egg. Summer is the best, and now’s the perfect time to savor it.
Photography & Styling by Alison Engstrom
The Best of Summer Salad
Serves 4 to 6
This Salad Has Everything That's Great About Summer
Categories
Ingredients
- 1 cup fingerling potatoes
- 1 cup green beans, cut in half
- 1 cup mixed tomatoes, like heirloom grape, sun gold or cherry cut in half
- 1 red pepper, sliced into small pieces
- 1/4 cup red cabbage, sliced thin
- herb flowers, from basil, thyme or fennel (optional)
- 3 tablespoons parsley, minced
- 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Clean potatoes and place in a small pot, cover with water and cook until soft. Place a cup of ice in a bowl of water. Drain potatoes and carefully place into ice bath until they can be handled. Drain water and set aside. Chop all vegetables and place into a serving bowl. Slice potatoes and include into mixture.
- For Assembly: Place lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. Beat to combine. Drizzle salad with dressing, toss togther. Garnish with herb flowers before serving, if desired.
- Note: Looking to make this into a more comforting dish? Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all ingredients, except cabbage on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and roast until golden, about 20 minutes.
Love love your blog but the slideshow experience on mobile gets cumbersome. Is there any way to show us your beautiful images inline instead sometimes?
Hi Jessica! We are working on this fix and should be rolling it out in the next couple weeks — super excited. Thanks for the feedback and stay tuned!
My salads are pretty boring – looks like I need to try some of these ideas. Getting hungry!
If you roast the ‘salad’ would you also boil the potatoes first?
Hi Karin – You can boil for a nice crispy outside and soft inside, or you can roast raw!
Such fresh ingredients. Love it!