When I was typing out the title for this post, it autocorrected “peach” to “peace,” so I say we go with it. This is a peaceful salad, a salad that can lure you out of the bustling summer season and into the slower pace of Autumn.
On the last day of August we could feel the air starting to chill, but it bounced quickly back into that sweltering late summer heat and humidity that’s keeping the tomatoes thriving, and the peaches, and the green beans… it’s still summer, even though the pumpkin spice Frosted Flakes have hit the shelves (can we stop, please?).
We made this salad with a box of vegetables we got from Local Roots - a company in NYC that connects local farms with New Yorkers with a weekly CSA. Not gonna lie, we kind of have a crush on them. They work with some of the best local farms in the NY area to put truly wonderful produce, meat, and dairy in the hands of New Yorkers - plus they show up all over the city for share pickups (we picked up ours at a wine store in BK).
This is one of those salads that came together without effort; the ingredients speak for themselves. The beans in this box were some of the best and most greenbean-y (for lack of a better word) we had all summer, which is why we threw them on the grill and added barely anything but salt. The peaches were juicy, sweet, and perfectly ripe. The cheese, a raw cow’s milk cheese from Sprout Creek Farm in upstate New York, is nutty and delicate and pairs surprisingly well with fruit. The warm beans and cold raw peaches play into that weird transitionary weather we’re in right now, and the cheese is just rich enough to slowly pull you into Fall. Can you dig it?
Green Bean & Peach Salad
Yield: 2-4 side salads
Heat grill to medium-high. Let it heat up while you toss the green beans in a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt.
Grill the green beans, letting them get a nice char on the outside. Turn once to get grill marks all over. Remove from grill, and let cool.
Toss the peaches with the beans and a drizzle of olive oil. Using a microplane, cover the salad in a generous amount of grated cheese. Finish with sesame seeds and freshly ground black pepper.
3 ripe peaches, in small wedges
1/2 pound green beans, cleaned
Sharp white cheddar or a semi-firm raw cows milk cheese (we used Kinkead from Sprout Creek Farm and it was phenomenal).
black sesame seeds
olive oil
salt
pepper
Note:
If you’re in New York, you can sign up for a weekly share from Local Roots through their website. If you’re not a New Yorker, there’s probably something similar in your area - look into local CSAs or talk to some farmers at your local market.