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Summer is my favorite time of year to cook. There are plenty of great vegetables available, and it's so easy to throw together a nice and easy salad.

This colorful salad is great served warm when it is first made, but it gains flavor as you let the leftovers (if there are any!) sit and marinate in the fridge. You can easily double the recipe, and it is guaranteed to spruce up any picnic!

I do not have a lot of exact measurements because I never learned to cook using them, so please don't get mad at the approximations.

This recipe takes about 20 minutes to make.

What you'll need:

-1 large red pepper
-8-10 baby red potatoes. you can use baby white ones too in a pinch.
-approx 1/2-3/4 lb of fresh string beans
-a lemon
-extra virgin olive oil
-spring onions
-salt
-black pepper
-a light vinegar (either rice wine or white wine. don't use balsamic as it is too dark and will discolor the potatoes)
-your favorite herb (I prefer basil for this, but you could use oregano or whatever you fancy!)


Set a medium sized pot of water to boil. Add the whole potatoes to the boiling water. When they are fork tender, take them out, cut them in half and place them in a large bowl. Do not over cook them!

While the potatoes cook, roast the red pepper. You can do this in your broiler, if you have one, or take a fork and hold it over the burner on your stove. It will take about 7-9 minutes to properly char the pepper. It should be well burnt on the outside. When it is done, slice in half and place inside a clean paper bag and close it. Or put inside a bowl and cover it. After about 5 minutes take the pepper off and the burnt skin will come off easily. Scrape out the seeds, cut into strips and set aside.

In a large bowl put about 3 tablespoons of vinegar, the zest of about 1/2 the lemon (be sure not to get the pith!!!), some salt, black pepper, and about one tablespoon of chopped fresh or dried herbs. Also squeeze some of the lemon juice into the bowl. Then while whisking, add about a 1/2 cup of olive oil. Taste it. If it is missing something, add it! It should be tangy/lemony and herby. It has to be strong enough to light up the veggies, so don't be shy! Pour contents over warm potatoes and toss.

Clean the string beans and chop them in half. Put them in the boiling water you just took the potatoes out of. Do not over cook them. I usually leave them in for about 4 minutes tops! They should be bright green and crunchy. Drain and add to the potatoes.

Clean and slice one green onion and add to the bowl. Add roasted pepper strips, toss and you are done!