An Easy Bean Salad For Any Holiday Occasion

Admit it! A salad is often the last thing you want to eat during the festive season, especially when you can indulge in all of your favourite sweets treats instead. However, unlike those sweet treats, this salad won’t leave you feeling guilty and down on your health.

Extracted from the “Cooking from the Heart: DASH Edition Cookbook” courtesy of Pharma Dynamics,  this salad is rich in nutrients, making it a healthy and delicious meal. 

Easy Bean Salad

This bean salad is a wonderful source of magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Tuck into this vibrant side dish or have it as a light vegetarian meal.

Salad

• 100 g broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 × 410 g tin butter beans or any other white bean, drained.
• 1 × 400 g tin red kidney or black beans, drained
• 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into thin wedges and then halved
• 1 slice feta, cubed
• Fresh origanum, Italian parsley, and thin strips of lemon rind to garnish

 Dressing

• 1⁄4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
• 1 tsp (5 ml) finely grated lemon rind
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar or orange juice
• 1 tsp (5 ml) ground cumin
• 4 tsp (20 ml) chopped fresh origanum
• 5 tsp (25 ml) chopped fresh mint black pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Salad: Place broccoli in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for 10 – 15 minutes, or until just cooked, but still bright green. Rinse broccoli in a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain well and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Dressing: Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl or jug and season to taste.
3. Gently toss all the salad ingredients with half of the dressing in a large mixing bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Mix in the remaining dressing, and garnish with extra herbs and lemon rind. Serve immediately.

TIPS

Serves 4 as a meal or 6 as a side dish | Ready in 1 hour