Five-Bean-and-Red-Onion Salad
From Will Packwood, Emilia's
1/3 cup red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, leaves only
1 shallot, minced
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup baby yellow wax beans, blanched for 3 minutes and plunged into cold or ice water
1 cup haricots verts, blanched for 2 minutes and plunged into cold or ice water (green beans may be substituted; blanch separately from the yellow wax beans)
1 cup garbanzos (chickpeas), cooked and rinsed
1 cup red kidney beans, cooked and rinsed
1 cup cannellini beans (white kidney beans), cooked and rinsed
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, julienne cut
3 whole scallions, julienne cut 2 inches long
To make the marinade, combine the vinegar, mustard, parsley, thyme, and shallot in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes, then gradually add the oil, whisking continuously. Season with salt and pepper.
Put the beans, onion, red bell pepper, and scallions in a large mixing bowl and stir in the marinade. Adjust seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Drain excess dressing before serving.
From the July 2001 issue.
A Star-Spangled SpreadSix top Austin chefs set off culinary fireworks with a potluck picnic for the Fourth of July.
Five weeks before the real event, Casa Volpe (Italian for "Fox House"), as Lisa and Emmett Fox of Austin's Asti call their stylish Tuscan-Texan villa outside Austin, was the scene of a pre-picnic photo shoot and sampling fest. As late-afternoon sunlight flooded the covered deck, the chefs began to arrive, bearing great baskets and platters of food. Marion Gillcrist, the chef and a co-owner of La Traviata, brought fresh, creamy Texas mozzarella and a bounty of heirloom tomatoes in shades from crimson to orange to green with yellow stripes. Aquarelle's Jacques Richard, a native of France, showed up with a still life of raw and blanched vegetables and a bowl of the world's most garlicky aïoli. Sam Dickey, the chef and a co-owner of the Granite Cafe, whipped up luscious mashed sweet potatoes infused with maple syrup and cascabel chiles. Will Packwood of Emilia's, who was recently named one of the country's top ten up-and-coming chefs by Food & Wine magazine, reinterpreted five-bean salad with a terrific parsley-thyme-scallion vinaigrette. For their part, the genial hosts prepared grilled lobsters (filled with vegetable slaw in a rainbow of colors) and homemade vanilla ice cream with swirls of puréed fresh peach.
Recipes
Crudites and Sauce Aioli
Five-Bean-and-Red-Onion Salad
Grilled Lobsters With Summer-Vegetable Slaw
Heirloom Tomatoes and Texas Mozarella
Honey-Ginger Applesauce
Mashed Maple-Cascabel Sweet Potatoes
Peach Swirl Vanilla Ice Cream
Sweet and Spicy Brined Pork Loin
Texas Blueberry Shortcake
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