Summer Platter Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1 shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 6 small tomatoes, halved crosswise
• 4 crookneck squashes, halved lengthwise
• 2 bunches baby beets (about 1/2 pound total), trimmed with 1/2-inch stems left intact
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas
• 4 new potatoes, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 cup canned drained black-eyed peas, rinsed
• 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced on the diagonal (about 4 cups)
• 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
• 2 bunches or 2 pints red and yellow cherry tomatoes
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch fresh basil, for garnish