MIXED BEAN SALAD WITH CILANTRO AND PEPITAS

10 TO 15 MINUTES

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

The bean salads I grew up with were made with canned green, yellow, and kidney beans tossed with a bottled vinaigrette, and the dish scared me off picnic beans for a long time. But I came back around to bean salads at precisely the same time that I started blanching market-fresh beans until crisp but tender and dressing them just before serving with sharp vinaigrettes of all sorts. In this recipe, I keep it simple and dress the beans with lime juice, cilantro, and crispy pepitas, which go well with Mexican and Latin American flavors. One more bean salad trick: dress the beans right before serving, since the acid in the lime will cause the beans to discolor over time.

•  Fine sea salt

•  ½ pound green beans, trimmed

•  ½ pound yellow wax beans, trimmed

•  ¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

•  1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste

•  ½ tablespoon white wine vinegar

•  1 tablespoon olive oil

•  Pinch of dried oregano

•  ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

•  Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of fine-sea-salted water to a boil. Have ready a slotted spoon or spider and a large plate or baking sheet lined with a clean kitchen towel or a double layer of paper towels. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add the green beans and cook until crisp-tender (about 1 minute). Use the slotted spoon or spider to remove them to the towel-lined plate to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the yellow wax beans, which tend to take a bit longer to cook, about 1½ minutes.

In a small dry skillet, toast the pepitas over medium heat until they start to crackle, about 1 minute. Remove from the pan and let cool.

In a large salad bowl, whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, oil, and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Toss with the cooled beans, pepitas, oregano, and cilantro. Taste and adjust the seasoning with flaky sea salt and pepper, and more lime juice, if desired.