I love Mediterranean bean salads. There are variations. This is salad #2 of 2.
Mediterranean Bean Salad II
This Mediterranean-style bean salad recipe is delightfully crisp and satisfying. Its fresh flavors include cannellini and garbanzo beans, cucumbers, olives, peppers, artichokes, feta, garlic, and herbs. This recipe yields about six 1-cup servings.
Ingredients
- Salad
1 can (15 ounce) cannellini beans, drained and well rinsed.
1 can (15 ounce) garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and well rinsed.
1 cup cherry tomato halves
1/2 red onion, diced
2 small Persian cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/2 cup pitted black olives, halved
1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, halved
1 cup assorted colorful bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup Poblano and/or 1/4 cup Jalapeño peppers, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped marinated artichokes, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup cilantro leaves, shredded
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- Vinaigrette
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons red vine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, like thyme, oregano, and rosemary
1 clove garlic, minced
Directions
- Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together and taste to adjust any of them to suit you. Add more vinegar if you want a tangier flavor. Set aside.
- Put the beans in a large salad bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss with enough vinaigrette to coat everything but not drown the salad.
- Serve immediately for the most flavor, or let it marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for a couple of hours or longer. Leftovers will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Canned beans don’t have to taste canned. Rinsing them extra well helps remove that unpleasant canned flavor and lowers their salt content by as much as 40%.
- Those delicious cannellini beans are delicate! Be gentle when you rinse and toss them.
- If making this bean salad ahead of time, leave out the tomatoes until time to serve. Tomatoes tend to get mushy in the refrigerator.