Tuscan White Bean Salad

Sometimes in the summer I like to plan a meal that is just a couple of salads. In order to up the amount of protein, I usually include a bean salad.

This one is very simple and uses ingredients I normally have on hand, including tomatoes which I dry from my garden produce each year and keep in olive oil. This also makes a great potluck dish. I've gotten a ton of compliments when I've served it to a crowd (little did they know how inexpensive it was!).

The ingredients you'll need to make this salad are: beans, of course, dried tomatoes in oil (if using ones not packed in oil, rehydrate them in water first), balsamic vinegar, olive oil (I'm using the oil from the tomatoes here), onion, chopped roasted red peppers, fresh basil (I have used dried in the winter, *gasp*), and garlic. I forgot to put the cheese in the picture, but you'll definitely want to add the Parmesan!

These white beans are Great Northern, cooked and frozen according to the method I discussed here. This, or cooking the beans right before assembling the salad, is the way to make this a really budget-friendly dish.




Thaw the beans, if they were forgotten in the freezer the night before. Ahem...

Chop the onion. I like to peel it, slice the ends (or just the top), cut in half, and then cut across the width of the onion.




Then I turn the onion and slice the other way.

Ta-da! Chopped onion! It can become diced onion by making the slices closer together. They aren't perfectly diced, but we are embracing imperfection here...

Place beans, roasted peppers, and onion in a bowl.

I cut basil by cutting the leaves in half if they are large, then rolling them and slicing. It makes thin, slightly longer pieces. Add to the bowl.

Because the dried tomatoes are my home-grown and dried ones, they are all different sizes. I find it easier to separate into similar sizes (usually about 3-4 piles), stack them and chop all together, adding them to the bowl with the beans as they are chopped.

If I have enough olive oil in the tomato jar, I like to use that for the salad because it has some of the tomato flavor. Measure out 1/2 cup.




Add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar to the olive oil and mix to emulsify (which means you can't see either oil or vinegar separately anymore).

I like to use a small whisk, holding it in between my hands and twist the handle back and forth. It emulsifies the oil and vinegar in seconds, no kitchen appliances needed!




This is the cheese I used today, an Asiago. I've also used Parmesan, and Romano. All are good. I use about a 1/2 cup for this salad.

Just make sure to grate it with your Microplane grater. You got one, didn't you?




Pour over the bean mixture and stir well. Add about 1/4 cup of the grated cheese and mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon salad to a serving bowl/platter (if different from the mixing bowl). Top with the remaining grated cheese and a sprig of basil.

And the cost? Well, mine is less expensive because all the vegetables are from my garden: the onion, basil, garlic, dried tomatoes, and roasted peppers. The beans are .57 (equivalent of 3 cans made this way), the olive oil about .50, vinegar .20, and cheese .25 for a total of $1.52!

Because onion, garlic, and basil are relatively inexpensive, I think this could be made for around $3.00 (for eight servings) after purchasing the tomatoes and a pepper that you then roasted at home. Still a nice, frugal dish even if you don't have home-grown produce to add.

Tuscan White Bean Salad (Printable Recipe)

• 4 c. cooked white beans (about 1-1/2 c. dry)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 c. dried tomatoes, packed in oil, chopped
• 1/4 c. finely sliced fresh basil
• 1 Tb. minced garlic
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c. grated Romano, Parmesan, or Asiago cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine the beans, onion, pepper, tomatoes, basil, and garlic in a large bowl.
2. Mix the oil and vinegar until thoroughly combined. Pour over bean mixture, add half of the cheese and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Remove to serving bowl and top with remaining cheese (and a basil sprig, if you'd like).

Serves 8

-Jami