Rainbow Tomatoes and White Beans

Yesterday I was struggling to think of a side dish to bring to a friends'  house last night for another friend's birthday celebration. I wanted to make something delicious (of course), that would go with the chicken sausages I know the hostess would be grilling, but the dish was going to have to sit in a cooler for several hours before the party as we attended another event. 

Then I opened my new copy of Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine. And there it was: Rainbow Tomatoes with White Beans. Who could resist a recipe with a title like that?

How lucky are we to live near the tomato capital of Texas: Jacksonville? A quick run to Brookshire's produced all the fresh-off-the-truck produce I needed for this magnificent recipe.

My pictures aren't that good; Michael will be disappointed. (kidding, Michael....you're too nice to tell me that my iPhone pictures stink...but that's why photography is YOUR job, not mine.) But the end result was a fresh, flavorful and gorgeous to look at salad that I think was enjoyed by all last night.

I started with curly parsley instead of flat-leaf. It has a slightly licorice flavor to it and gives a dish, especially one like a fresh salad, a more distinct flavor than using flat-leaf.

Capers add a salty touch, I even omitted the extra salt in the recipe and let the capers stand in. A caper is the pickled bud the immature caper flower and delicious to cook with.

I enhanced the vinaigrette with lemon-flavored olive oil.

Jacksonville tomatoes are out of this world. The green ones have a crunchy texture and the orange add color.

Cannellini beans are my favorite to cook with. I love their texture and their buttery taste. With six grams of  protein a serving, I would consider their addition to this salad main-course worthy, but I'm sure some of my more carnivorous friends would disagree. ;-)

All in all, a truly delightful meal!

Rainbow Tomatoes and White Beans

2/3 cup chopped parsley

2 T capers, drained and chopped

2 t red wine vinegar

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

salt and pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 pound multicolored tomatoes, cut into thin wedges

1 can (15 ounce) cannellini beans, rinsed

1/4 cup pine nuts

In a large bowl, combine the parsley, capers, vinegar, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp peppers, whisk in the extra virgin olive oil (I used a citron flavored EVOO for extra flavor). Add the tomatoes, beans and pine nuts and toss to coast. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.