Dishing Up the Dirt

White Bean Garden Salad

Creamy white beans, fresh herbs, and sweet sugar snap peas come together to create a lovely summer salad. Top this bowl with a zesty chimichurri, soft boiled egg and a little crumbled goat cheese for an absolutely lovely little meal. I’ve really been hitting the white beans recently because we can get bulk beans locally for such a great deal and they make any meal substantial without a lot of fuss. If you’re local to the Gorge or Portland area Sun Gold Farm has amazing beans. They trump any bean you can buy at the store and I’ve loved having them on hand for easy, healthy meals. This tasty number is light, refreshing and perfect on a hot summer evening. Feel free to use any fresh herbs you can get your hands on and if sugar snap peas aren’t available you can try this with snow peas, green beans or asparagus. I hope you all love this recipe as much as we do. Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm

White Bean Garden Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 1 hour    Serves: 4

Salad
  • 1 cup Cannellini beans or great Northern beans, soaked in water overnight
  • 3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas or green beans
  • 1/2 cup chopped dill
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 4 eggs
  • fresh goat cheese for crumbling
  • fine sea salt
  • crushed red pepper flakes
Simple Chimichurri
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup firmly packed chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + more to thin if need be
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • a few grinds of black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
 

Preparation

  1. Drain the soaked beans and place them in a saucepan with enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Add the garlic cloves, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer the beans until they are cooked through and tender. About 45 minutes to 1 hour (this depends on the freshness of your beans). Once cooked through drain the beans and garlic. Discard the bay leaves and return to the pot. Lightly mash the garlic into the beans. You wan't some beans to be mashed and some to retain their shape. Drizzle the beans with the olive oil and give the whole pot a big stir.
  2. Meanwhile, in a small pot of boiling water, cook the sugar snap peas or green beans for 1 minute or until bright green. Using a slotted spoon, place them in a bowl of ice water. Drain, pat dry, and chop them into small pieces.
  3. To prepare your soft boiled eggs, gently lower 4 eggs into a pot of boiled water. Boil the eggs for 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water and when cool enough to handle peel your eggs.
  4. Prepare the chimichurri by combining all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blending until smooth. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
  5. Stir in 1/4 cup of the chimichurri into the pot of beans. Add the peas and give the pot a stir. Divide between bowls and top with the herbs, eggs, and goat cheese. Add a drizzle more chimichurri if desired and a hefty pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and sea salt.

Notes

Use this recipe as a guide and adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.


Leave a Reply

4 thoughts on “White Bean Garden Salad

  1. Beth says:

    Ohh….this looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it!

  2. Amalia says:

    This was a delicious dinner and perfect for a hot day. I cooked the beans in my instant pot and substituted radishes for the snap peas since I couldn’t find any snap peas at the farmer’s market this week. The chimichurri is so bright and brings everything together! Thanks for another great recipe!

  3. CYnthia bell says:

    I just finished your book. Looking forward to the sequel. The originality and freshness of your recipes are great

    1. Andrea says:

      Thank you!

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