sort of salad nicoise

A refrigerator full of vegetables from the CSA and the farmers market. A weekend out of town looming. Heat.

The result, dinner inspired by salad nicoise, but with some additions. I started with small gold-fleshed potatoes, boiled, and green beans, steamed just until bright green and broken into pieces. Two ears of corn, boiled for just a minute and stripped. I added about a cup of cannellini beans, canned ones, rinsed to remove some salt and drained. And a can of tuna packed in olive oil. Yes, it’s oil. But it tastes so much better than the other stuff. Sorry, Charlie.

I made a classic vinaigrette of olive oil, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and lemon juice, with some garlic powder. I put more salt and pepper in the dressing than I would for a tossed salad, because all those vegetables would need seasoning.

I tossed the beauties in a pasta bowl with a good soak of the dressing, then tossed in about a cup of halved cherry tomatoes. The salad went into the refrigerator to chill for a couple of hours. When we got ready to eat, I threw in some capers. I’ll take capers over olives anytime.

Some bread on the side, and we were pretty happy eaters. If I’d only found a way to work in the kale…