Twelve Months of Healthy Eating: Double Bean Salad

I’m rolling right along with the calendar project and I’m almost caught up!

Next up is May’s recipe: Bean and Tuna Salad, without the tuna.  Well, you know I’m not a fan of tuna so I’m gonna skip over that.  The recipe in the calendar also called for cannellini beans, which I don’t keep in the pantry. It’s not that I don’t like them, just that I use them infrequently and prefer building recipes around ingredients I think more of us are likely to keep handy.  I’ve used garbanzos instead.  Or chickpeas.  Which do you call them?

But the part I like the most about this salad is that I got to use garden fresh produce!  My friend Janey dropped green beans by from her garden.  The little orange cherry tomatoes and oregano in the dressing came from my garden.  I love this time of year when I really know where at least part of my food is coming from.

This salad made two entree sized salads for lunch.  Perfect for a quick meal on a hot Summer day.  Enjoy!

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Twelve Months of Healthy Eating: Double Bean Salad

Author Johnna

Ingredients

• 2 T . extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T . balsamic vinegar
• 1 T . fresh oregano leaves , finely minced
• 1/2 t . prepared Dijon mustard
• salt to taste
• 1 cup green beans , blanched
• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans/chickpeas
• 14 cherry or grape tomatoes , halved
• 12 kalamata olives
• 2 T . pine nuts/pignolias
• 2 generous servings of salad greens of your choice

Instructions

1. Blanch green beans and set aside.
2. On each of two plates, lay down a bed of salad greens.
3. Top each with half of the green beans, garbanzos, tomatoes, kalamata olives and pine nuts.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the dressing ingredients. Drizzle over salad and serve.