Fruity Mixed Bean & Vegetable Salad, The Kooky Way

Mixed Bean & Vegetable Salad

• Servings: 1-2
• Time: 60mins
• Difficulty: easy
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Having just returned from a very indulgent break 🙂 and half a kilo weight gain :-(, I fancied something low fat, healthy yet satisfying for my dinner.

Since I had ingredients for salad lying around, I decided to build on what was on hand and the result is this main meal salad recipe.

something raw, something cooked, something steamed, something char-grilled, something sweet, something smokey, something spicy, something tangy, something salty all on one plate: sounds like a Britart exhibit doesn’t it?!

The recipe calls for plenty of garlic and mint, garlic to aid digestion of otherwise gassy beans and mint to balance out the pungent garlic taste. So if you are a fan of these two ingredients, definitely worth giving this a go.

Ingredients

1 Cup cooked mixed beans

1 Medium size carrot

2 Green peppers

2 Onions

12-15 Cherry tomato

1 Asian pear

1 Cucumber

1/2 Cup fresh mint leaves

1 Large head of garlic

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

Juice of 2 lime or lemon

1 Teaspoon honey

1 Tablespoon dried, smoked, jalapeno flakes

Salt to taste

Method

1. Wash and scrape the carrot. Remove the top, cut into thick batons and put in a steamer. Once the steam starts coming out, set the timer for 6 minutes. Take off the heat once steamed. Put the batons on a plate to cool down.
2. Wash and grill the peppers either directly on a gas burner or in an oven (in which case drizzle a bit of olive oil).
3. Once the peppers have cooled down, remove the skin, core and seeds and cut them in strips. Set aside.
4. Peel, wash and finely slice the onion in half moon shape. Separate the rings.
5. Wash and wipe the cherry tomato. Slit them with a knife leaving the base intact so that the salad dressing penetrates.
6. Wash and halve the Asian pear. Remove the core and slice it.
7. Wash and halve the cucumber and slice it.
8. Wash and dry the mint leaves.
9. Take a large salad bowl and throw in the cooked beans, steamed carrot batons, sliced char-grilled peppers, cherry tomato, onion, Asian pear, cucumber and mint.
10. Now make the dressing. Peel and grate the garlic.
11. Whisk together the olive oil, cider vinegar, juice of lime or lemon, garlic, honey, jalapeno flakes and salt to taste.
12. Check the dressing for taste and add whatever you feel is lacking.
13. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss well and serve.