Gigantes Bean and Orange Salad
Giant-coloured elephant beans, oranges, winter leaves and herbs in a spiced white balsamic dressing.
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Servings: people
Ingredients
Beans
- 250 g dried giant elephant beans (gigantes) or substitute borlotti beans, pink beans, cranberry beans or white Gigantes. Use dried or tinned.
- pinch bicarbonate soda
- 1 small stick celery
- 1 clove unpeeled garlic
- 3 black peppercorns
- ½ red onion (reserve the other half for the salad)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Salad
- 2 oranges, peeled with all the pith removed and divided into small segments
- 2 handfuls winter salad leaves or young kale, spinach or broccoli shoots. Kale and broccoli may need blanching and slicing down the middle of the stem.
- 1-2 sticks celery from the centre of the head of celery - including the leaves, finely sliced
- 1 spring onion - finely sliced
White Balsamic and Lemon Dressing
- 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Garnish
- ½ red onion - finely sliced
- ½ tsp sumac or more Aleppo pepper
Instructions
The Beans
- Soak the beans overnight in a pinch of bicarbonate of soda.
- Drain and rinse the beans and cover in water. Add the onion, garlic, peppercorns and celery. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for about an hour until soft but still holding their shape.
- Drain and return to the saucepan - removing everything except the garlic. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and mix with a pinch of salt, black pepper and tablespoon of olive oil. Add to the beans and toss well to make sure the beans are well coated in the dressing.
White Balsamic and Lemon Dressing
- In a large salad bowl, add all the dressing ingredients and whisk.
The Salad
- When you are ready to serve*, add the beans and all the salad ingredients to the salad bowl and gently toss. Garnish with the onion and either a pinch of sumac or more Aleppo pepper.
Notes
*If you prepare the beans in advance, gently reheat them in a little olive oil before tossing them into the salad. It's not essential, but the salad is tastier with warm beans.
