Purple Bean Salad
Photo: Ajna Jai / Contributor
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.