Recipes

Vegetable and Bean Salad

Striking colours and flavourful ingredients combine in this easy, adaptable dish

By Caren McSherry /

Credit: Flickr / Dayna McIsaac

For a splash of colour, add ribbons of carrots or slices of red peppers to this vegetable and bean salad

This tasty, fuss-free bean salad can be served as a side or a main

Colourful, healthy and most of all flavourful, this salad can be put together in 30 minutes.

And no, this is not a typo — “mini mini” refers to the size of the bocconcini cheese balls. They come in four different sizes and mini mini bocconcini are approximately the size of grape tomatoes.

Ingredients

Dressing:

  • 1 large head roasted garlic, peeled
  • 1 Tbsp. grainy Dijon mustard
  • 3 Tbsp. balsamic glaze
  • ¾ cup lemon-infused olive oil (or plain)
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad:

  • 1 (540 mL) can black beans, well rinsed and drained
  • 1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
  • 2 cups grape tomatoes
  • 2 cups cooked edamame beans, shelled
  • 2 cups mini mini bocconcini, drained
  • 15 stalks fresh asparagus, blanched and chopped
  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • ½ cup chopped fresh basil
  • 4 cups fresh arugula
  • Parmesan curls for garnish

Instructions

  1. Place the roasted garlic cloves in a small bowl. Smash garlic to a smooth paste with the back of a spoon.
  2. Add the mustard and balsamic.
  3. Slowly whisk in the oil. The dressing should be smooth and thick.
  4. Add a squeeze of lemon to thin it out a bit and season with sea salt and pepper.
  5. Set dressing aside.
  6. In a large bowl, mix together the beans, pepper, tomatoes, edamame beans, bocconcini, asparagus and fresh herbs.
  7. Pour the dressing over the mixture, little by little, gently tossing to coat the vegetables.
  8. Arrange the arugula on a serving platter.
  9. Turn the dressed vegetables and cheese out over the arugula. Do not toss, as you want the vivid colours to be visible on top.
  10. Garnish with fresh Parmesan curls.
  11. For a main-course option, top the salad with a piece of flame-grilled chicken or salmon.

Serves 4

Originally published in TVW. For daily programming updates and on-screen Entertainment news, subscribe to the free TVW e-newsletters, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.