Today’s weekend inspiration is a simple salad I remember loving from my childhood. Not only is it simple and quick to make, but also hearty and bursting with flavors. The taste is bold, yet creamy, and it brings me back to my childhood. I present to you my crazy and colorful and hearty bean salad. A mix of beans and veggies, great for a quick and nutritious lunch or snack on the go.
The star of this salad is the beans. Beans are a great plant-based protein, complex carb and packed with nutrition. They are a great source of fibre, they are low in calories, and offer high amounts of potassium, magnesium and iron to name a few.
Furthermore, beans are versatile, easy to make, and very inexpensive. They are a staple food in most cultures around the world. If you look around, most cultures have a bean dish as part of their main staple food, prepared in a variety of ways. Isn’t it strange that this is not the case in the American Diet?
How to Prepare them?
As you may know beans can be found in the supermarkets in several forms. The least expensive kind are usually dried beans, however this is also the most labor intensive for preparation. I’m not trying to scare you away from using dry beans, as it is not hard to cook or prepare, however it does require more time and planning. The other options are canned beans or frozen beans.
If you have the time, try making a big batch of dry beans in advance and freeze them for later use. When using dry beans it’s best to soak them overnight in water in order to reduce the cooking time. Here is a handy chart with cooking times for each type of bean.
| Bean Type (1 cup) | Cooking Times (in minutes) | ||
| Soaking Time | Boiling Time | Pressure Cooking Time | |
| Lentils – Green | none | 30-34 min | 6-8 min |
| Lentils – Red | none | 20-30 min | 5-7 min |
| Split Peas | none | 35-40 min | not recommended |
| Black-eyed | overnight | 60 min | 10 min |
| Chickpeas | overnight | 1.5 – 2.5 hrs | 15-20 min |
| Kidney | overnight | 1 – 1.5 hrs | 10 min |
| Black | overnight | 45-60 min | 15-20 min |
| Navy | overnight | 45-60 min | 4-5 min |
| Cannellini | overnight | 45-60 min | 4-5 min |
| Pinto | overnight | 1.5 hrs | 10 min |
While we may not always have the luxury to plan and prep in advance, there is a quick and simple alternative – canned beans. Canned beans are fast and easy to use, and consequently inexpensive. I normally keep some canned beans at home in my pantry for whenever I want to prepare something with beans.
Generally, I prefer organic beans and try to always buy BPA free cans. Furthermore, I usually give the beans a quick 2 minute boil just to freshen them up. This is not necessary, however I feel like the taste is better, and there is no after taste that sometimes canned beans have.
Getting back to my recipe this week, which I hope you will enjoy. It’s crazy and colorful bean salad. A mix of beans and veggies, great for a quick and nutritious lunch or snack on the go. The best part is the longer it sits in the fridge the better it is, so make it on the weekend and enjoy it all week long! I know you won’t be disappointed – Happy Cooking!
Ingredients
Water for blanching 1 cup broccoli florets
2 cups of mixed canned beans. I like to mix 1/2 a cup of each of the following beans: kidney beans, garbanzo beans, cannellini beans and black beans. (OR 2 cups of soaked and cooked beans of your choice)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 Cucumber diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/4 cup of olive oil and apple cider vinegar mixed together (half half mixture)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley, cilantro and basil
1/4 cup chopped onion
Pepper, to taste
Directions
Using a large pot, bring the water to a boil.
To start add the broccoli and cook for about 2 minutes. Do not throw boiling water away. Scoop out the broccoli and transfer to a colander and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Keep water boiling and add canned beans in pot for 2 minutes. I like to give them a little boil to “freshen” them up. This step is not necessary however, I think it improves the taste. Drain beans and add to bowl with broccoli.
In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients for dressing: oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and spices. Once emulsified, add beans, onions, broccoli and herbs.
Mix well to coat everything with dressing and serve over arugula or lettuce.
