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Commie Chef: Spiced white bean and spinach salad

Although this is a salad, as you can see it’s a substantial dish which will stand alone —or almost alone — with nothing but some really good bread to keep it company and, if you can run to it, some crisp white wine. 

It’s got such a wide range of vitamin-laden goodies in it that I suspect you’re covering all the nutritional bases, too. 

If you want to save time rather than money you can replace the dried beans with two standard 400g cans of cannellini or any small white beans. 

If you use dried beans they’ll need to be cooked for at least an hour and possibly longer. 

You want them cooked through but not sloppy. And do it sufficiently in advance that you can let them cool before preparing the dish. 

You can prepare them the day before and keep them, covered, in the fridge.

 

  • 250g/9oz dried white beans, soaked overnight and boiled (see above) with two bay leaves and two garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
  • 140g/5oz small, young spinach leaves
  • Two red peppers, deseeded and chopped
  • One small red onion, very finely sliced
  • Few sprigs of coriander leaf or flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine
  • Few sprigs of fresh mint, chopped fine
  • Tsp fresh ginger, grated, or a good pinch of powdered ginger
  • Clove garlic, grated or crushed
  • Tbsp sesame oil
  • Tbsp soy sauce  

 

The beans should be cool before you make the salad. 

When they are, mix together the fresh vegetables and add them to the beans in a large bowl. 

Prepare the dressing by mixing all of the other ingredients vigorously together. 

Just before serving make sure the ingredients are well-blended and pour the dressing on, stirring the bean mixture to ensure that everything is well-coated.

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