Lynne's Homage to California Cuisine: Garlic Bread, Green Bean and Tomato Salad

Adapted from The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy's Farmhouse Kitchens by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (Scribner 1999).

Serves 4

A perfect salad for the season -- new garlic, green beans and ripe tomatoes. Turn this into supper with a chunk of Vela Dry Jack cheese. This family was one of the pioneer artisan cheese makers in the state. Their cheeses still take blue ribbons, with the Dry Jack being the one they started with long before the California Cuisine revolution of the 1970's.

• 1 large clove garlic, split
  
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
  
• 6-quart pot half full of boiling salted water
  
• 3 1/2-inch-thick slices coarse grain bread, toasted and still warm
  
• 2 medium-sized delicious ripe tomatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
  
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Rub a serving bowl with the garlic, reserving half the clove. Drop beans into boiling water and boil, uncovered. Taste after 5 minutes. When tender and beginning to lose their crispness, drain and sprinkle with salt. Turn into the bowl.

2. Rub the warm toast with the reserved garlic and tear into irregular, bite-sized pieces. Add tomatoes. Gently toss with olive and vinegar. Season to taste with taste salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

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