Three Bean Salad with Rosemary Dressing

Spring is springing, or at least it's supposed to be, and that means more fresh produce, lighter meals, and sunshine.  As much as New York weather may want me to fight it, I'm beginning to warm up to idea of springtime salads.

This salad was inspired by one I spotted on the menu at Le Verdure, the vegetable centric restaurant in the Flatiron Italian food mecca known as Eataly.  On a beautiful day about two weeks back, I walked over to Eataly after work and enjoyed a relaxing solo meal at the bar of Le Verdure.  I saw this salad on the menu but ultimately ended up choosing two hefty slices of bruschetta-- one with mushrooms and braised kale, and the other with oven roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh ricotta cheese.  Both were delicious but I left wondering if I should have gotten the salad, as it continued to linger in my mind.

The next day, I decided to recreate my own vision of 'the salad that got away' at home; this is what I came up with.

Three Bean Salad with Rosemary Dressing
No measurements here as I don't find them necessary when making salads.  Use ingredients to your liking.
Ingredients
 
Haricot verts
Wax beans
Garbanzo beans
Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Kalamata olives, halved
Butter lettuce, romaine, or a mix

Dressing
Rosemary olive oil, or chopped fresh rosemary and olive oil
White wine vinegar
fine grain sea salt
black pepper

Preparation
Blanch the haricot verts and wax beans. (Fill a large bowl with fresh water and ice cubes, place in the sink.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, pour in the beans and boil for a minute or less. Pour into a collander to drain hot water and then quickly submerge beans into the ice water bath to stop cooking).  Cut into halves or thirds and pour into a large bowl.  Add the garbanzo beans, tomatoes, olives, and butter lettuce.  Whisk dressing ingredients in a bowl and pour over salad.  Lightly toss with hands and serve.  Season with salt, pepper, or extra rosemary as needed. Or top with Rosemary Crackers, if you've got any!