Forklift Salad

Summer is almost officially upon us. Kids are winding down with school, patio furniture is out but in desperate need of cleaning and I'm dreaming of outdoor entertaining. This is a colorful and beautiful salad to serve. I also buy some flatbread or naan and grill it to soften and provide some grill marks - cut into wedges and pile around this mound of goodness. It's called "forklift" salad because of the bounty of vegetables that you'll be consuming and that's a good thing!

Forklift Salad

2 cups English cucumbers that have cores removed and diced
2 cups seeded and diced plum or Roma tomatoes
2 cups cored and diced red pepper
1 can drained and rinsed garbanzo beans
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup diced red onion
3 Tbls plus 1 Tbl. white or cider vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. whole-grain dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbls. fresh mint
3 Tbls. fresh basil
3 Tbls. fresh flat-leaf or Italian parsley

Combine all veggies/beans and in a small bowl whisk together vinegar, garlic, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper and mustard. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Pour over veggies/beans and let sit for up to two hours at room temperature. At serving time add herbs and adjust salt/pepper as needed. Serve with wedges of grilled flatbread. You may also want to consider serving with a slotted spoon.

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