Four Bean Salad

I had two of my old colleagues from United Way come over for lunch. I thought panini's would make a perfect lunch time meal. To accompany the panini's, I decided to make my old roommate D's bean salad. Well, it's not actually her recipe. She got it from one of her old boyfriends; it's a family recipe from his Ukrainian grandmother.



I did not actually like beans until I reached adulthood. Vietnamese people mainly eat beans in desserts, and so I never had beans in savoury dishes. When I started eating beans, I did not like the texture at all. However, I knew it is a healthy protein source. It obviously grew on me because I love beans now!

I am submitting this recipe to the food blogging event, My Legume Love Affair, highlighting recipes with legumes. This ninth edition is hosted by Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. If you are interested in participating, or want to check past round-ups, take a look at the host lineup. This food blogging event was created by Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook.

Four Bean Salad
You can definitely use fresh beans instead of canned ones but I don't mind the mushier canned green and yellow beans (slightly embarrassing). Most people like this salad because of the sweet vinaigrette. The onion and red pepper have been added to the original recipe.

* 1 can grean beans
* 1 can yellow beans
* 1 can red kidney beans
* 1 can chick peas (the original recipe calls for lima beans)
* ¼ red onion, diced small
* 1 red pepper, diced
* ½ cup sugar
* ½ cup vinegar
* ½ olive oil
* ½ tsp basil
* ½ tsp parsley
* ½ tsp tarragon - I usually skip it simply because I don't have any
* ½ tsp dry mustard

Strain each can of beans and rinse thoroughly.
Place the beans, red onion and red pepper in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
Add the vinaigrette to the beans.
Mix well.
Allow to marinate for at least several hours, or ideally overnight in the fridge.
Tada!


Cans of beans.

Colourful beans and vinaigrette.

I love the colourful mixture.