Marinated Vegetables

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Serves 10
Hands-on: 15 minutes
Total: 2 hours, 15 minutes

1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and halved
1 cup halved green beans
1 medium English cucumber, cut into 1⁄4-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (about 2 cups)
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips (about 2 cups)
2 cups pitted kalamata olives
1 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
3⁄4 cup Versatile Vinaigrette (see below)

1. Fill a medium saucepan with water; add the salt, and bring to a boil. Add the asparagus; cook until bright green, 30 to 45 seconds. Remove the asparagus from the pan, and immediately plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. Add the green beans to the boiling water; cook until bright green, about 1 minute. Remove the green beans from the pan, and immediately plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the asparagus and green beans.

2. Combine the asparagus, green beans, cucumber slices, tomatoes, bell pepper strips, olives, and artichoke hearts; add the Vinaigrette, and stir gently. Let stand about 2 hours.

 

Versatile Vinaigrette

Makes: 3 cups. Hands-on: 5 minutes. Total: 5 minutes
 
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4  teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
 
Whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until smooth.
 
NOTE: You can use a food processor to combine the oil and the acid, but it’s easy to over process the liquids and they can become thicker than gravy. If the dressing gets too thick, add water to thin the dressing; do NOT add more oil because that will only make the problem worse.

Marinated Vegetables.jpg

Recipe excerpted from What Can I Bring? by Elizabeth Heiskell. Copyright © 2017 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Meredith Corporation. New York, NY. All rights reserved.