After a full day of working in my garden, I needed to make this salad. It had to be big enough to serve the Simonds’ kids for dinner and my kids for lunch the next day. It was hot, and the idea of a cold salad with vegetables (just soft enough to bring out the extra flavor and color, but served cold) had me thinking all day.
In the end, this salad was a perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken and Italian sausage. It was even better the next day as Lyman and Mansell returned from the beach at 3:30 in the afternoon. We put the bowl of 24-hour pickled vegetables in the middle of the table. Lyman opened a Wolffer Rose and the table had perfect balance.
PICKLING PHASE:
2-cups cold water
2-cups white vinegar
4-Tbsp sea salt
1/4-cup sugar
3 shallots finely diced
Mix in a bowl and set aside.
VEGETABLE PHASE:
10 small carrots, scrubbed clean and split into four pieces top to bottom
3 cucumbers, peeled halfway and sliced into pieces
2 cups yellow wax beans, ends snapped off
1-cup sweet peas
10 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2-cup parsley cleaned and chopped
1/2-cup oregano, cleaned and chopped
1/4-cup mint, peeled and chopped
Start by boiling a pot of water and salt with three tablespoons of sea salt. Add the carrots to the boiling water first. Then fill a large bowl with water and ice. After three minutes, transfer the carrots to the ice water. Repeat with beans and then with the peas.
When the peas have cooled, strain the ice water from the bowl and then add the cucumbers and the radishes. Follow with the pickling solution and the herbs. Toss and allow to stand in the refrigerator for at least an hour, tossing regularly every ten minutes.
VINAIGRETTE:
1-cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4-cup white vinegar
1-teaspoon salt
2-Tbsp Dijon mustard
As you get ready to serve, strain the vegetables of the pickling mixture. Then toss the pickled vegetables with the vinaigrette. Serve as much as you need over a bed of mixed garden greens.
Reserve the remaining picked vegetables for the next day. They will go well with fish or grilled meats.
