I wanted to make a wintery salad that would satisfy my salad cravings but not make me feel that I was eating something that transported me to the spring or summer that we have yet to enjoy. This white bean salad with a spiced lemon and Rosemary dressing suited me perfectly. It is a salad, but one with a little kick of heat and a dressing that brings these little beans to life.
I do love tinned beans. They are both useful and economical and let’s be honest, I never remember to soak my beans, and I am not sure there are many of us that do. I have every good intention to and they are a feature of my cupboard but I am seemingly incapable of thinking ahead when it comes to beans.
This is a perfect salad for cold weather and at this time of year, when there is not much happening down at the allotment, I like to turn to the store cupboard for my salad inspiration. Although I did make THIS salad (purple sprouting broccoli) last year on the blog and it is perfectly in season now if you want to have a double whammy of salad for tea!
I served this salad with some balsamic roasted chicken which I have written about HERE. Piment d’Espelette was something I discovered through reading the LOST IN AUSTEN (Kumquat & Chilli Charlotte) blog. Thank you Kit, a wonderful discovery 🙂
I am sending this over to Lavender & Lovage’s HERBS ON A SATURDAY . This month, the challenge is being hosted by LONDON BUSY BODY.
It is also going to be added to the ONE INGREDIENT linky hosted by me and co-host Franglais Kitchen this month. The Ingredient for March is The Chilli.
White bean salad with a spiced lemon & Rosemary dressing
Ingredients
- 450 g Cannellini beans drained & rinsed drained & rinsed
- 1/2 Lemon both zest & juice,
- 1 tsp Rosemary finely chopped
- 1 Red chilli finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp Chilli flakes/Pul Biber
- 5 Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 packet Feta cheese broken into cubes or chunks.
Instructions
Tip the cannellini beans into a salad bowl,
Combine all the remaining ingredients (apart from the Feta cheese) into a bowl and mix them together to form the salad dressing,
Pour over the cannellini beans and stir well to coat the beans,
If possible, let the salad marinate for at least 30 minutes for the flavours to infuse. I left my salad to marinate for 6 hours and the flavour was superb,
Add the crumbled/cubed Feat to the salad and serve either on it's own or with an accompaniment of your choice.
Recipe Notes
This salad improves with a little time left to marinade in the fridge before serving. The flavours will become more pronounced and intense.
Sometimes (not often) I do remember to soak dried beans overnight, then I cook more than I need and freeze
the extra, ready for the times when I forget. But tinned beans are a staple in our house too. Your salad looks lovely – I like the idea of marinating the beans to let the flavours develop.
Hi Sarah, I think I should do what you do and make a large batch of beans and freeze some. I love using them in soups too asI am sure you do 🙂
This salad sounds great Laura. I love the sound of the dressing and am going to give it a go this week : )
Hi Charlotte, the dressing is great and would go with lots of other salads too. It would be good with grilled chicken or fish and Halloumi 🙂
I love tinned beans too – so versatile! This looks like a lovely salad, one that I would very much like to eat. I also love feta cheese so you are ticking boxes all over the place for me 🙂 Thanks Laura!
Hi Anneli, yes I love beans as they take on the flavours that you add to them so well. You are right, they are versatile 🙂
I love beans in salads like this and yours sounds delicious with that amazing dressing with those gorgeous flavours of lemon, rosemary and chilli! Love your serving suggestions too, particularly grilled chicken or halloumi – lovely!
Thanks Katharine, hope you enjoy lots of cooking and eating over the Easter weekend!
Lovely salad, wintry with the evergreen rosemary. A super fast lunch meal salad 😀 But I’m wondering what heat level piment d’espelette is, and UK equivalent? And a wee little tip if it’s not too cheeky: you can cook raw beans after covering in just boiled water and soaking in a tightly-lidded pan (eg pressure cooker) for one hour. Rinse well and boil up as you would from overnight soaked (I carry on in the pressure cooker). The only bean I wouldn’t try this with is kidney beans. I do up loads at a time and freeze, just as you suggest. It makes a healthy meal so much easier, doesn’t it?
Thanks so much for your speedy bean cooking advice. This is something I will definitely try out and it saves time which is always needed during the week xx