White Bean Salad with Celery and Mint (and Sometimes Tuna)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried Great Northern or cannellini beans*
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 1 stalk celery quartered
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 2- inch piece kombu if you have it**
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- Dressing:
- ¾ cup unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar preferably unpasteurized
- ½ teaspoon raw honey
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 ½ cups chopped celery
- 1 shallot cut into thin half-moon slices ar ½ red onion, small dice
- 1 ½ cups loosely packed mint leaves chopped
- 1 7- ounces can albacore tuna packed in oil or water optional, flaked
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and pick over for small stones or debris. Soak the beans in cold water overnight with a 2-inch piece of kombu.
- Discard the soaking liquid, and place the beans and the other ingredients for cooking them in a 6-quart pot. Add enough cold water to fill the pot half full. Bring to a boil. Simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the beans are tender. Turn off the heat, add the tablespoon of kosher salt and allow to cool in the cooking liquid. Drain and discard the cooking liquid, onion, celery and kombu.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until emulsified.
- To make the salad, transfer the cooked beans to a serving bowl. Add the celery, sliced shallot, fresh mint and (optional tuna.) Pour the dressing over the beans and toss to blend. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
*Or you can use 6 cups drained and rinsed canned beans, approximately 3 or 4 cans.
** Kombu is a seaweed which helps tenderize the beans and make them more digestible. If you also cook the beans with the kombu, it adds alkalinity. I buy Eden kombu at Whole Foods or from amazon.com