Bean Me Down

The sweet-and-sour flavor of cold pickled vegetables makes for a light-tasting salad on sultry summer days.

The yellow and green beans now abundant at farmers’ markets and grocery stores are the basis for this classic four-bean salad. Rinsing the canned kidney beans prevents the liquid from the beans from clouding the sweet-and-sour dressing. Letting the dressing cool to room temperature after simmering and before straining brings out the full flavor of the spices.

I prefer this salad chilled and served with sandwiches, grilled beef, pork or poultry.

FOUR-BEAN SALAD

1/2 pound yellow beans, cut into 2-inch pieces

1/2 pound green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 (8 3/4-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed under cold water

1 (8 3/4-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup water

1 cup vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon celery seeds

1 bay leaf

1 clove

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Cook yellow beans and green beans in salted boiling water to cover until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

Combine yellow beans, green beans, kidney beans and garbanzo beans in bowl and toss. Stir in onion and bell pepper.

Combine water, vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, bay leaf, clove and red pepper flakes in saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand until warm. Strain. Pour over beans in bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve as salad or relish.

8 (1/2-cup) servings. Each serving:

154 calories; 497 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 2.31 grams fiber;