Summer Corn, Bean & Carrot Salad

According to the calendar, tomorrow is the first day of Autumn.

According to my thermometer, it’s still grossly hot where I live.

Even if you’re lucky enough to get fall weather, chances are you still have a garden or a farmer’s market that is going strong.

So while everyone else is engrossed in pumpkin spice madness, let’s make a Summer Corn, Bean & Carrot Salad!

The fresher your veggies, the better your salad. That being said, I’ve now made this 3 times and 2 of them have been good old veggies from the grocery store.

Here’s what you need:

Green Beans, Green Onions, Carrots, Corn, Red Bell Pepper, Dijon Mustard, Vinegar, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

Click here for a Summer Corn, Bean & Carrot Salad Shopping List

If your corn is really fresh and tender, you can just cut it off the cob and use it raw.

Mine had been sitting around for a couple of days so I wrapped it in waxed paper and nuked it in the microwave for about 4 minutes.

It’s not fully cooked like for eating corn on the cob, but it hel;s make it a bit less chewy and more tender.

Unwrap it to let the ears cool then cut the kernels off the cob.

You’ll need ½-¾ pound of green beans. Try to find super skinny beans (often sold under the French name Haricots Verts) for this salad.

You can blanch the beans in boiling water for 2-3 minutes OR put them in a covered bowl in the microwave with 1-2 Tablespoons of water.

Zap them for about 2-3 minutes and then rinse in cold water or shock in an ice water bath to stop the cooking.

I actually cooked these beans right in the package from the store. Way too hot here for steamy pots of boiling water on the stove.

Again, these are only partially cooked – we want them to be crisp tender. If they still taste too raw, zap them for a minute more.

Drain and dry the beans and cut them in half.

Finely chop 1 small red bell pepper and 2 green onions.

Put all of the vegetables in a large bowl…the carrots are hiding on the bottom.

I bought pre-cut matchstick carrots at the store and used 1 cup. You can also grate the carrots or just chop a few carrots into small pieces.

Our dressing is a simple, classic vinaigrette.

In a small bowl combine 2 Tablespoons of vinegar, 1 heaping teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and 4 Tablespoons (that’s ¼ cup) of olive oil.

I’ve used a different vinegar every time I’ve made this. The original recipe calls for red wine vinegar, I have sherry vinegar here, and last time I used white wine vinegar.

The only vinegar I might NOT use is balsamic since it is so much stronger and would also darken the vibrant colors of the salad.

Season the dressing with a little salt & pepper and whisk to combine.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss.

If you can plan ahead, this tastes even better if it has an hour or so to sit and marinate in the fridge.

It also keeps really well – leftovers stay crisp and have great flavor, so go ahead and make a big bowl!

Savor those flavors and veggies of summer while you still can!

Pumpkins can wait until October!

Here’s the recipe:  Adapted from Melissa Clark

Summer Corn, Bean & Carrot Salad