Thursday in the City- Meal Planning (Bring a Dish to Share)

Three Bean Salad

Last week, I mentioned (I believe in the comments) that I wanted to be able to find dishes that worked, and be able to recreate them with out thinking.  This Three Bean Salad recipe is from Martha Stewart.  I instantly wanted to make it becuase it reminds me of summer picnics and family gatherings.  There are so many potlucks on meetup.com or events at the community gardens/farms, a great way to meet new people and share in the cooking, but I never can think of anything to bring. This dish is my new summer dish…and I can make it without thinking or looking at the recipe.  Easy.





Ingredients

Serves 4
  • 8 ounces green beans, stem ends removed, halved on the diagonal
  • 4 ounces yellow wax beans, stem ends removed, halved on the diagonal
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

Directions

  1. Fill a large bowl with ice water; set aside. Set a steamer basket in a large pot with a lid. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil.
  2. Place green and wax beans in basket; reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pot, and steam until beans are crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes. With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer beans to ice water. Drain, and pat dry.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Add green, wax, and cannellini beans; toss to coat. If storing, cover and refrigerate up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before serving.


I use dried cannellini beans and avoid canned.  I have also used frozen Lima beans as an alternative to the wax beans.  There is another bean salad variation using kidney beans that I am going to try next.

Serves 4
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1/4 pound haricots verts or green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds
  • 1 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 ounce mache or watercress, trimmed, rinsed, and spun dry
  • Freshly ground pepper

Directions

  1. Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, tarragon, chives, honey, mustard, and salt until combined. Set aside.
  2. Prepare an ice bath; set aside. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add haricots verts or green beans; simmer until bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer haricots verts to ice bath, and let cool completely. Drain in a colander, and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a large serving bowl. Add kidney beans and cannellini, and drizzle with vinaigrette. Toss to coat. Gently toss in the mache or watercress; season with pepper. Serve.
A bonus of using Martha’s recipes online, there is a “Shopping List” function that allows you to create grocery lists right on the site.   This makes Meal Planning a little less daunting.  Whole Foods also has this function.  Even if you can’t shop there, the lists can be used anywhere.

Looking for a place to share your new dish?   Check out some of Hayes Valley Farm upcoming community events.

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