Curried Three-Bean Salad

Serves 6

Like most Americans, I grew up eating three-bean salad at picnics and other summertime get-togethers. This was in upstate New York, where we were spoiled by the amazing produce stocked by Wegman’s, the incredible supermarket owned by my friend Danny Wegman. I updated the concept by using three types of fresh beans rather than the expected canned kidney, garbanzo, and green beans. Haricots verts, also called French beans, are slender dark-green beans; wax beans share all the characteristics of green beans but are yellow or purple, the yellow being commonplace and the purple more difficult to find. If need be, you can substitute the latter with fresh cranberry beans, which are cream-colored speckled with red, or pole beans. The beans taste great dressed with curry, which is a change from the expected sweet, vinegary dressing found onmost three-bean salads.

ingredients

5 ounces haricots verts
5 ounces yellow wax beans
5 ounces purple wax beans, cranberry beans, or pole beans
6 tablespoons Curry Oil (recipe follows), plus more for garnishing
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

directions

1
In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch the haricots verts for 4 to 8 minutes or until just tender. Drain and immediately submerge in cold water. Drain again. In another large pot of boiling salted water, blanch the yellow wax beans for 4 to 8 minutes or until just tender. Drain and immediately submerge in cold water. Drain again.
2
Cut the tops off both the haricots verts and the yellow wax beans and cut the beans on an extreme bias into 1-inch pieces, discarding the tails.
3
Cut the tops off the purple wax beans and cut the beans on an extreme bias into paper-thin slices, discarding the tails.
4
Put all the beans into a medium-sized bowl and toss with the curry oil until coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, divide the salad among 6 small plates and arrange in a pyramid fashion. Garnish with a drizzle of curry oil.