Double Squash and Bean Salad

Recipe by: Nigella Lawson | from Forever Summer

Cookstr

Course: Side Dish, Vegetable

Total Time: Under 1 Hour

Skill Level: Easy

Cost: Inexpensive

Photo by: Joseph DeLeo

The double component is that both squash and bean elements are twofold: yellow summer squash and green zucchini, cut into batons, oil-dressed and oven-roasted; waxy, kidney-curling vibrantly green fava beans, and darker green string beans, both lightly boiled then refreshed to keep their verdant intensity. It’s a salad just in the sense that all the vegetables are left to get to room temperature—though certainly no colder—before being spritzed with lemon and tossed with basil and parsley: early summer on a plate.

Yield: Serves 4–6

INGREDIENTS

2¼ pounds yellow squash
18 ounces zucchini
Approx. 1/3 cup olive oil
1½ pounds fresh fava beans, shelled and—I’m sorry—peeled (or 10 ounces frozen fava beans)
9 ounces slender green beans
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Bunch fresh basil
Bunch fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut all squash and zucchini into thirds then cut each third into batons or sticks. Arrange them in a large roasting pan and coat them well with the oil. Frankly, the best way to do this is to pour the oil over and then smoosh everything about in the pan with your hands. Stick the pan in the oven and roast the squash for about 30 minutes, by which time the batons should be cooked through and golden at the edges.

While this is going on, cook the fava beans (and it truly is worth popping them out of their skins; see directions for the minestrone on page 26) and green beans separately in salted boiling water until tender, then drain and refresh them both by plunging them in iced water and then draining them again.

When the squash batons are cool, put them in a bowl with the two beans and dress them with lemon juice; the squash should be sufficiently, and desirably, oily to need no extra drizzling here. Chop the basil and parsley and add them to the bowl, mixing everything gently (again, just hands is easiest) to avoid squashing the batons.

Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed, decant into a clean serving dish and sprinkle over whatever bits of basil and parsley are clinging to the chopping board.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutrients per serving (% daily value)

This recipe serves 6, and includes 1/8 teaspoon of added salt per serving.

Calories 546kcal (27%)

Sodium 316mg (13%)

Total Carbohydrate 78g

Fiber 32g

Fat 14g (22%)

Trans Fat 0g

Saturated Fat 2g (10%)

Monounsaturated Fat 9g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g