Tomato Salad With Red Beans

This colorful tomato salad is bulked up with red or pink beans. But it’s not a bean salad with tomatoes; it’s a tomato salad with beans. I added celery to the mix for its crunchy texture, which is nice against both the juicy tomatoes and the soft beans, and because I love its herbal, crisp and refreshing flavor.

Ingredients

2 pounds ripe sweet tomatoes, preferably a combination of red, green and yellow heirlooms
Fleur de sel or coarse sea salt
1 ½ cups cooked red or pink beans (1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)
½ cup finely diced celery
1 small garlic clove, puréed in a mortar and pestle or put through a press
2 ounces crumbled feta (about 1/2 cup), plus additional for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus additional for garnish
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 cups baby arugula (optional)
12 barley rusks or 12 small but fairly thick slices toasted whole wheat country bread

6 servings

Preparation

Cut tomatoes into wedges. If tomatoes are very large, cut wedges in half across the middle. In a large bowl, toss tomatoes with salt, beans, celery, garlic, feta, mint, vinegar and olive oil. Mixture will become quite juicy quickly if tomatoes are ripe.
Line a platter or plates with arugula and arrange rusks or toasted bread on top. Use 2 pieces of bread per serving. Top with tomatoes and juices. Garnish with additional feta and mint, and serve.

Salad can be prepped ahead but do not salt or toss with dressing until shortly before serving or tomatoes will release too much juice.

10 minutes