The Institute of Culinary Education has teamed up with GrowNYC for a monthly series highlighting peak season produce at the farmers’ market, and this month we’re featuring a few summer staples: new potatoes, green beans and cucumbers.

Green beans and potatoes are a popular pairing and Plant-Based Culinary Arts Chef-Instructor Rich LaMarita brings them together into a cool and well-balanced summer salad. The green beans are used two ways: blanched then sautéed as a starring salad element and finely sliced as a raw garnish. The potatoes are boiled and then roasted to boost flavor and texture. He opts for vinegar-based dressing as opposed to mayonnaise to keep it light and rounds out the dish with salty ricotta for richness and cured olives for saltiness.

If a refreshing drink better suits your craving, try Chef Rich’s Cucumber-Lime and Ginger Spritzer. Fresh cucumbers are muddled with lime juice and mint, and mixed with ginger beer for a spicy, herb-forward and refreshing sip.

Why not try them both?

Ingredients

For the Salad:
1/2 pound fresh string beans, ends trimmed
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds new potatoes
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup cured Moroccan olives, roughly chopped
1/2 pound salty ricotta, diced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon dill, chopped
Salt & pepper

For the Dressing:
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper

Directions

For the salad:

Heat oven to 375˚F.
Blanch the string beans for 30 seconds then shock in ice water. Dry the beans and cut into about 1 to1 1/2" pieces.
Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan and cook for a minute until tender, yet still crisp.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 10-12 minutes until fork tender. Drain and dry them. Crush them partially with a fork, toss with two tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 10-12 minutes until lightly colored.
Combine the string beans, potatoes, red onion, olives, ricotta, parsley and dill in a bowl and toss with dressing. Chill and serve.

For the dressing:

Combine the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon and garlic in a bowl. Whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Cucumber Lime Ginger Spritzer

Serves 8 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients

2 seedless cucumbers, sliced, plus extra for garnish
6 ounces lime juice
24 mint leaves, plus extra for garnish.
4 cups ginger beer (non-alcoholic)
8 slices lime

Directions

Muddle the cucumbers, lime juice and mint leaves in a sturdy glass or bowl. Strain. Mix with ginger beer and pour into glass filled with ice. Garnish with cucumber slice, mint leaf and lime slice.

*Note: you can muddle fresh ginger in step 1 and add seltzer in lieu of ginger beer in step 2 if desired.

Cory Sale

Cory Sale is the Senior Public Relations Manager at ICE and an alumna (Culinary Arts '22). She enjoys writing about seasonal produce almost as much as visiting NYC’s greenmarkets, where she finds new flavors to add to ice cream. When she’s not cooking (or eating), you can find her on the frisbee field chasing down a piece of plastic.