How To Make Bean Salad – the Bean Eaters writers Dilemma
When writing about how to make bean salad one must ask if the post will focus on the humorous side of beans or will it take a more utilitarian approach? Should a blog post about how to make bean salad touch upon the non-nutritional impact bean consumption has on human interaction? The loneliness bean consumption can wreak on a person can be heavy. I mean, who can stand the giggling and naughty looks? Elevator avoidance can be hard, too. I suppose utilitarian it is then.
How To Make Bean Salad – The Beans
Canned beans, which I like very much, are pretty utilitarian in and of themselves. The bottom line regarding beans in a bean salad is that choosing canned makes things oh so very easy. There is a large variety of canned beans on the shelves of the grocery so choosing the ones you like is extra easy. Kidney beans, chick peas, great northern, even black beans all work nicely. While eating beans, as suggested above, does have its quirks, they are really a great addition to the diet. Canned beans are a delicious source protein that are easy to come by and cheap. Perfect! With a little flavor addition, they make a great salad that can be put together with little time.
How To Make Bean Salad – The Other Flavors
For a bean salad the sky is the limit, but simple always seems better. Canned, rinsed beans are pretty much a blank slate so stronger flavors are always welcome. A little onion and celery are nice for flavor and crunch. Peppers (hot and sweet), corn and tomatoes can certainly be great additions.
And of course, a bean salad has fresh herbs written all over it. This is a good place to re-introduce yourself to parsley. That herby flavor is very good at adding freshness to the beans. Don’t limit yourself though – cilantro, basil, dill, herbs de provence – all would be great.
How To Make Bean Salad – The Dressing
Keeping a bean salad ultra simple means olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper. A bean salad can stand up to more complex vinaigrettes, too. A classic red wine vinaigrette with a little mustard would be fantastic. Although it may sound strange, I would not discount the possibility of a light cream dressing either. A bit of ranch dressing or caesar would be very good. The key is to keep it light. You don’t want your bean salad drowning. A light coating of dressing is all that is really needed.
The ‘How To Make Bean Salad’ video is below. The full recipe follows.
- 1 small red onion
- 1 stalk of celery
- 1/2 oz of fresh parsley
- 24 oz of your favorite canned beans (like kidney, chic, great northern).
- 4 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- Peel and finely dice the red onion.
- Clean and dice the stalk of celery.
- Wash, dry, and chop the fresh parsley finely.
- Drain and rinse the canned beans well.
- In a large bowl, mix the beans with the onion, celery and parsley. You can add as much or as little of the onion, celery and parsley as you like.
- Drizzle the bean mixture with the all of oil. Mix well.
- Drizzle the mixture with lemon juice to taste. Mix well.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Refrigerate the bean salad to allow the flavors to come together.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
- You can use your favorite beans, vegetables, and herbs to make a variety of different salads. The lemon juice can also be substituted with a variety of different vinegars.
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How do you make your bean salad? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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