If I had to say what is the best use that can be given to some jarred legumes, I would say, without hesitation, that it is to add them to a salad.
Although they are very practical for countless dishes, in salads they provide strength and good nutritional qualities, thus often turning them into unique dishes.
This time we opted for white beans - normally creamier than lentils or chickpeas - and mixed them with spinach and an herb “pesto”.
The quotes about the sauce that works as a dressing are not there in vain: this is not a canonical Italian pesto, I simply dare to use the name to refer, through something familiar, to the fact that this is a sauce where herbs are mixed with nuts, olive oil and garlic (add cheese too if you feel like it).
You can give it different nuances depending on the herbs you use and their proportion;
Here we use basil, parsley and mint but you can choose dill, cilantro, oregano or whatever you prefer.
As for nuts, act freely and change them for the ones you like the most or have on hand.
To give it an acidic and spicy touch, which reduces the sensation of density that the beans with the pesto can give, we make a red onion quickly pickled with vinegar, pickles, hot pepper – fresh or dry –, sugar and salt.
If you want to speed up this step, you can replace it with some pickled onions and some chopped pickles.
Time:
20 minutes
Difficulty:
Really zero
Ingredients
For 2 persons
For the salad
200 g cooked white beans
200 g spinach, preferably baby or young leaves
1/2 red onion
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
A small piece of fresh hot chili pepper or 1/2 teaspoon ground chili pepper
5 or 6 small pickles
For the pesto
50 g roasted peanuts
½ clove of garlic
12-15 fresh basil leaves
10-12 fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
A handful of fresh parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Instructions
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