A Mid Summer Night’s Salad

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Be it Shakespeare in the Park or sunset on the terrace, this unbelievably simple salad of fresh green beans, yellow tomatoes, and red onions makes the perfect accompaniment to your next enchanted evening. As a side dish or on a bed of lettuce as an entree, there is no better way to celebrate the sights and sounds of those summer nights.

1 lb fresh green beans
4 large yellow tomatoes
1 large red onion
1 bunch of fresh basil (leaves only; about 1 cup loosely packed)

Wash all of the vegetables and the basil thoroughly.

Place the green beans in a steamer basket and put it in a large sauce pan with about 3 inches of water at the bottom. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, and cover with a lid. Steam the green beans just until the color changes to a bright green. Be careful not to overcook the beans, just blanch them to a firm, ‘al dente’ texture. Strain the green beans in a colander immediately and shock them under cold running water to stop the cooking process. NOTE: If you are a raw food enthusiast, you can skip this step of steaming the green beans and use them raw in your salad.

Cut the yellow tomatoes into 1 inch chunks making sure to reserve the juice and place all in a large mixing bowl.

Dice the red onions to about 1 inch chunks.

Rough chop the basil.

Mix all of the vegetables together with the basil and dress with the tahini dressing below. Serve simply, as a side dish or on top of a bed of salad greens.

Creamy Dressing (Dairy-free)
2 tablespoons of sesame tahini
juice of one medium-sized lemon
1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
several drops of water (if needed)
fresh ground pepper to taste

Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, Balsamic vinegar and nutritional yeast together. If it binds into a paste, add a few drops of water at time until you reach the consistency of a creamy dressing.

NOTE: Salt is intentionally NOT used in this recipe, the addition of balsamic vinegar works as the acid as well as the lemon juice to bring out the flavors.

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