Summer Vegetable Ceviche

The August issue of Food & Wine is all about "vegetables now," and it's a must-read for any home cook interested in expanding their vegetarian repertoire. There were several recipes and techniques in the issue that I bookmarked to try, including the vegetable "ceviche" on the cover (above). 

The "ceviche" recipe is essentially a bunch of vegetables tossed with a classic ceviche marinade made of lime juice, oil, jalapeño pepper, shallots and scallions. (I made the recipe using frozen edamame in lieu of shelling beans, and they worked just fine.) This clever veggie idea comes from the couple behind the website GreenKitchenStories.com and authors of Vegetarian Everyday, both of which are now on my to-read list. 

If you like ceviche and you like vegetables, I would highly recommend adding this to your summer recipe rotation. My husband's response to the dish was, "Why haven't we been making this all summer?" I bet you'll ask yourself the same thing. 

Summer Vegetable "Ceviche"
From Food & Wine magazine

1 cup fresh baby lima beans (from about 1 1/2 pounds in the pod) or other shelling bean

1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

Sea salt

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears)

2 nectarines, cut into thin wedges

1 Hass avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 large orange bell pepper, finely julienned

1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1. In a small saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the lima beans until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the lime zest and juice with the olive oil, scallion, jalapeño and shallot; season the dressing with salt. Gently fold in the lima beans, corn, nectarines, avocado, orange pepper and tomatoes. Refrigerate the “ceviche” for at least 2 hours. Fold in the cilantro just before serving and serve the “ceviche” chilled.

Note: The salad can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours. F&W says it serves 8, but I'd say it's more like 6.

Want more summer salad ideas? Try these

Tomato Salad with Olives and Lemon

Creamed Corn with Gorgonzola, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Carmine's Caesar Salad Dressing