I’ve got dozens of these bean salad recipes at my fingertips and I hope to prepare all of them. As I’ve said in the past, bean salads are easy to put together, taste great, are healthy, and the ingredients are relatively inexpensive when compared to the ingredients of other types of salads. You can’t beat the price of dried beans. You simply can’t. On top of the great price are the health benefits of the various types of beans. For this dish, I used navy beans, which are a rich source of folate, magnesium, potassium, and other nutrients that help in weight loss, trigger metabolism and regulate blood sugars. All of that in a package that costs around $.89.
The Recipe
What’s great about bean salads is the creativity that can be used when choosing the vegetables that go with them. For this recipe, I took advantage of red bell peppers, garlic, shallot, parsley, and scallions. The combination was just about perfect, but if you’re trying something like this out, feel free to use whatever you have in the fridge. Just be sure to follow the cooking instructions for the bean portion of this recipe, as there’s a twist thrown in. There’s also another twist when it comes to the shallots.
I’d like to thank America’s Test Kitchen for this recipe. I pulled it from their The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook. Just another awesome recipe from another awesome cookbook.
Ingredients
Serves: 6 to 8
1/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
2 Cups Dried White Beans 0r 2 (15) Ounce Canned White Beans (Navy, Cannellini, Etc…)
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Sherry Vinegar
1 Shallot, Minced
1 Red Bell Pepper, Cleaned & Diced
1/4 Cup Parsley, Chopped
1/4 Cup Scallions, Chopped
Cook the Beans
If you chose to use dried beans, go ahead and cook them according to the instructions on the package. You’ll likely need to soak them overnight for best results. If you’re using the canned beans, simply open the cans and drain the beans. Set whichever you chose to use aside for later use. Here’s a photo of my cooked navy beans in a colander.
Prep Your Veggies
If you haven’t already, prep your vegetables. Here are some photos of mine.
Chopped Shallot
Soak the Shallots
This is the first twist. In order to cut some of the harsh flavor of the raw shallots, you can soak them in the sherry vinegar. All you need to do is add the vinegar to the bowl in which the shallots reside, mix everything up a bit and that’s it. Allow to sit until the next step the shallots are called for.
Prepare the Beans
This is the second twist. Warm one tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic to the saucepan and cook, while stirring, for a few minutes, until the garlic begins to change color. Then, add two cups water, one teaspoon salt, and the beans. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, turn off the heat and let the pot sit for 20 minutes. Doing this will infuse the beans with a garlicky and salty goodness. After 20 minutes, drain the liquid from the pot.
Combine Ingredients
At this point, you’re ready for assembly. Add the remaining olive oil, shallot, red bell pepper, parsley, and scallions to a large bowl and mix everything together well.
Then, add in the beans and garlic from the pot. Mix well and then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Plate & Serve
That’s all there is to it! As I said, bean salads are easy and fun to prepare and they’re perfect to bulk up any meal. Now that this dish is complete, just plate, serve, and enjoy!
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