All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008 through 2025

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

tuscan bean salad with sun dried tomatoes





Steamy, hot weather calls for chilled salads, and I've been eating this delightful Italian salad, along with French potato salad with dill, all week.  Still no rain, but the heat wave is supposed to break tomorrow - none too soon for me!  Hope everyone is managing to swim through this humidity.

This recipe makes quite a lot of salad -  probably around 10 cups.  It's terrific for packing for lunches, or having around instead of chips.  It's also super healthy - fiber, protein, all that good stuff.  And it's not expensive to make, either.  

To make:
2 cups small white beans, dried
4 bay leaves
1 peeled onion, whole
1 t. oregano
Place beans, onion, bay leaves, and oregano in a large pot.  Cover with water about 6 inches above the beans, bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer and cover.  Cook until beans are just soft - about an hour.  Check to see if you need to add water, too - after about a half hour.  Drain and remove bay leaves and onion.

Place in a large bowl and add:

1 T. fresh lemon juice
4 T. or more red wine vinegar
4 T. or more olive oil
4 cloves pressed garlic
3/4 cup scallions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 t. basil, dry, or 2 T. fresh, sliced
1. t, oregano
1/2 t. thyme
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved, or diced tomatoes, or 6 or 7 sun dried tomatoes, snipped into slivers with scissors

Toss gently and taste, taste, taste.  Taste right away, then taste again a half hour later, since the warm beans will absorb the dressing.  Most often it needs a little more oil or salt.

Eat as is, or stuff into peppers, tortillas, wraps, omelets, pasta.  It's also great with tortilla chips ( hold the sour cream!)...by the way, this is great if you're on the South Beach diet, even for Phase 1!

8 comments:

Farmgirl Susan said...

Oh, this looks so good! xoxo

katrina said...

Thanks fig! Just took a look at YOUR beautiful salad and amazing veggies and am lusting:)

kellypea said...

This is such a great salad -- love the flavors! I've heard about the weather -- can't bear the heat. We've only just begun to heat up here, but I won't complain.

katrina said...

Hooray, Ms. Kelly- the heat wave has ended! Cool mornings, sunny days - perfect. And a perfect day to make some more bean salad - did I mention how popular this salad is for pick up dinners and picnics? Gone in a flash:) Thanks for coming by!

Barb said...

Oooh! Yumm! This looks like the perfect thing to make for these hot!!(again) summer days.

We had a break from the unbearable heat for a couple of days, but it seems like it is back - 102 for tomorrow! Ugh! (I am so looking forward to autumn!)

katrina said...

Oh, ugh, Barb! Same here - hot. Seems like every day the weather people say we will have rain, and it never comes. This unsettled weather, starting with last October, is making me cuckoo. High hopes your weather will be a little more seasonal.

Farmgirl Susan said...

Hi Kat,
I made this the same day I saw the recipe and it tasted great. Wonderful combination of flavors, but mine didn't look nearly as pretty as yours, lol. My beans got a little soft and split, so it ended up more like a sludgy sort of wintry dish. But in a tasty way! :)

katrina said...

Fig - did you soak them first? Sometimes that makes a difference, and you have to watch the cooking time like a hawk. Still, glad the flavors came through - it is a wonderful summer salad!

Just copied your link for your marvelous greenhouse to my daughter, who is hoping to be self-sufficient on her land ASAP. Great alternative to expensive greenhouses.