Dishing Up the Dirt

Mixed Beans + Quinoa Salad with Lime & Ginger Vinaigrette

This recipe is dedicated to my old farm crew back at Hutchins Farm. Picking beans is seriously one of the worst farm chores out there. Back-breaking is an understatement. Your hamstrings get a major workout, your arms get tired and of course, the lower back aches after a day spent in the bean patch. At Hutchins Farm we could spent up to 8 hours straight filling bucket after bucket full of beans in the heat of the summer. It was awful and the crew survived the mundane task by playing games like Guess Who? and 21 Questions. Now that Taylor and I have our own farm it’s almost twice as bad because it’s just the two of us and we miss the camaraderie we had with a full crew. We still play Guess Who? but it’s not the same without our old farm friends. As it turns out, tasks that are physically demanding (like picking hundreds of pounds of beans) are just a little more bearable when you have a crew of folks you can bitch and moan to while playing silly games to take your minds off the task at hand.

With that being said, Taylor and I are thrilled that our bean harvest is in full swing and very productive (even if our backs are killing us). I was inspired to make this dish after seeing a recipe in the most recent issue of Bon Appétit for a mixed green bean salad from one of my favorite cookbook authors Yotam Ottolenghi. Every dish I’ve made out of his cookbooks turn out amazing. This particular salad is a complete detour from the original recipe in the magazine but the inspiration is all from Ottolenghi. I incorporated different herbs and vegetables that were available at the farm and added some quinoa to bulk it up a bit. I’m happy with the results and as it turns out, this is a great summer salad to have on hand when other farmers come to dinner! Since we couldn’t enjoy this dish with our old farm crew we called in some new farm friends to help us tackle this salad. We enjoyed this dish with some smoked salmon, a pasta salad and a bottle of delicious summer wine. Simple food like this obviously tastes best with good company and I hope you all give it a whirl soon. Crack open some wine and enjoy!

Mixed Beans + Quinoa Salad with Lime & Ginger Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 15 minutes    Serves: 4-6

  • 1 pound mixed beans (green, wax or purple) trimmed
  • 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
  • 5 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 4 scallions, minced (white and light green parts only)
  • 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
  • salt + pepper to taste
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa

Preparation

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add beans and cook until crisp tender. About 3-4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water. Let cool and pat dry.
  2. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and soft. About 3 minutes. Add ginger, garlic and coriander and cook until very fragrant. About 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with salt & pepper.
  3. Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in the same skillet over medium-hight heat. Add peanuts and a healthy pinch of fine sea salt. Cook, tossing often, until golden brown. About 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and let cool. Once cool enough to handle coarsely chop.
  4. In a large bowl whisk together the lime zest, juice, honey, red pepper flakes and remaining 3 Tablespoons of olive oil. Stir in the scallion/ginger mixture, beans, peanuts, cilantro and cooked quinoa. Toss to coat and season with plenty of salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

*Use this recipe as a guide *Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary *Taste test as you go *Have fun in the kitchen


Leave a Reply

2 thoughts on “Mixed Beans + Quinoa Salad with Lime & Ginger Vinaigrette

  1. francesca says:

    ginger + cilantro <3 I'd eat that combination on just about anything!

  2. Natalie says:

    Hi Andrea
    Just wondering if this is the kind of thing I could make the night before?
    Thanks
    Natalie

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