At the end of summer, I love finding farmer’s markets or roadside stands selling their bounty of fresh tomatoes. Recently, I have been into trying different types of course salts — black and pink Hawaiian and Himalayan salts for example. They are great on sliced fresh tomatoes with fresh ground pepper. If you need more ideas for using up your fresh tomatoes, here’s a great tasting salad that makes up really quickly.Time to table: 5 minutes
Serves: 4
Healing Nutrient Spotlight
Excellent source of vitamin C and fiber
Good source of vitamin A and iron
Ingredients*
1 can (14 oz.) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved; or 3 to 4 medium tomatoes, cut into chunks
4 scallions or 6 green onions thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
*Choose organic ingredients for optimal nutrition.
Preparation
In a medium-sized bowl, lightly toss the first five ingredients together to mix and disperse the oil and lemon juice thoroughly with the other ingredients. Then, season with salt and pepper to taste.
This is an extremely easy salad to prepare and it is great for adding other ingredients as you have them for a different twist on the taste. For instance, add fresh minced garlic, or if you have any fresh jalapeno or banana pepper, chop them up and add an amount that is to your liking. Sprinkle with a little chili powder if desired. The flavors in this salad get even better after sitting awhile, so it is great to make it up a day ahead of time.
Nutrition
150 calories, 8 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 5 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat, 17 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 4 g protein, 620 IU vitamin A, .7 mg niacin, 23 mcg folate, 30 mg vitamin C, 40 mg calcium, 250 mg potassium, 2 mg iron, 330 mg sodium
Recipe by Laura B. LaValle