Flageolet Bean Salad - The Caviar of Beans
Original source: Flageolet Bean Salad by Janice Feuer Haugen
Flageolet Bean Salad
with Cucumber, Radishes, Carrots, Scallions
and Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette
If you can’t find flageolet you can make this salad with more easily found Great Northern Beans or smaller Navy beans. As these are less flavorful beans than Flageolet, I’d recommend increasing the amount of dressing by a fourth.
The Beans
- 1 pound Flageolet beans
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Pick through the beans and discard any debris.
No need to soak the beans.
Rinse the beans well.
Place them in a large pot along with the bay leaves,
salt and water to cover the beans by 2 inches.
Bring the water to a rolling boil.
Boil for 5 minutes before lowering the heat so the water simmers.
Partially cover the pot.
Check the beans after 1 hour for doneness.
Keep an eye on them while they cook as they can
turn the corner after awhile and get over done.
If the water gets low, add hot water from a tea kettle.
Continue cooking the beans until tender.
Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon homemade mustard or other country-style mustard
- 1 large garlic clove
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt, and more to taste
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
OR ¼ cup bean cooking liquid
Put the fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar and salt into a 1-2 cup jar with a tight-fitting lid. Press the garlic through a garlic press into the jar. Let these ingredients sit for at least 5 minutes to both remove the sharpness from the garlic and to dissolve the salt. Add the mustard, fresh thyme, and the olive oil OR bean cooking liquid. With the lid on the jar, shake the jar to emulsify the dressing.
The Salad
- 4 cups cooked and drained Flageolet beans
- 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
- ½ cup thinly sliced radishes (4-5 radishes)
- ½ cup grated carrots
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions (scallions)
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
Prepare the salad ingredients: Slice the cucumber, radishes and green onions. Grate the carrots. Keep these items refrigerated until time to toss them with the beans.
When the beans are cooked, drain them, saving the flavorful
broth for another use. Measure out 4 cups of beans and
place them in a large mixing bowl. Shake the dressing again
if it has separated, and pour it over the hot beans. Use a
rubber spatula to gently toss the beans with the dressing.
Toss in the prepared salad ingredients. Adjust the
salt to taste. Serve the salad warm (my favorite), at room
temperature or cold.
Note: if you are going to serve Flageolet Bean Salad at
room temperature or cold, readjust the salt again just
before serving. A salad served warm will need less salt
than a salad served at room temperature or cold.