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
Dining and Cooking