White Bean and Radish Salad

Summer is for salad, folks.  When the weather turns this warm, I just want a cool, easy to fix salad for my meal.  One that looks good on the plate, tastes good, and is healthy for you are all necessary attributes.  If it is made with readily available staples that I have in my pantry that’s even better.  Well, I’m happy to tell you, this salad fills all those criteria and more.

I put this salad together in about 15 minutes.  Once made I let it chill so it would be nice and cool by dinnertime, and served it with some salmon kabobs, cooked quickly on the grill.

Opening a can of white beans is one of my favorite ways to start cooking.  There are so many ways you can spin them into salads and side dishes.  They can be paired with whatever you have in the fridge or what looks good at the market.   In this case the beans are mixed with fresh radishes, scallions, black olives and lots of fresh parsley in the dressing.  I would also not hesitate to pair them up with some tuna fish, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, some herbs, and a drizzle of lemon juice and olive oil.  When using an ingredient like beans in a salad, you want to combine them with something that offers a contrasting crunch and a pop of color.  Here, we have red, white, black and green.  So pretty when you plate it up!

This satisfying salad was great served alongside fish, but it will also go well with grilled or roast chicken or steak.  It can even become a completely vegetarian meal just by adding some wedges of hard boiled egg.  Give this one a test run, it might become your new favorite go-to salad.     Its also a great take along if you’re going to a pot-luck picnic over the July 4th weekend.

WHITE BEAN AND RADISH SALAD

Servings:   6 – 8

Ingredients:

• 2 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained**
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. drained capers
• 2 cups (packed ) fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
• 1/4 cup (or more) white vinegar
• Kosher salt, black pepper
• 1 bunch radishes, trimmed, cut into thin wedges
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3  (15-oz) cans cannellini -white kidney beans- rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted, quartered

1.  Blend anchovies, oil, capers and 1 cup parsley in a blender until a coarse puree forms.  Transfer to a large bowl, mix in 1/4 cup vinegar, and season with salt and pepper and more vinegar, if desired.

2.  Add radishes, scallions, beans, olives, and remaining 1 cup parsley to bowl and toss to combine.

3.  Cover and chill till ready to serve.  May be made 4 hours ahead.

**Many recipes call for just one or two anchovies to be incorporated in a dish, leaving you to wonder what to do with the remainder of the tin.  I keep a spare ice cube tray available for just such times when I will put 2-3 anchovies with their oil, into each of the depressions, add a small amount of water to cover and freeze them.  Once frozen, place into a zip-top baggie, keep frozen, and use as needed in future recipes.

SOURCE:  This recipe was derived from Bon Appetit magazine.