Sweet & Tangy Three Bean Salad

  • Yield:8 servings
  • Time:
    8 hrs, 8 mins show details

Now baby, I know what you're thinking - bean salad sounds like something from a church potluck that nobody wants to touch. But this one here? This one's got soul. My grand-mère used to make something similar for summer gatherings in the Treme, and that sweet-tart dressing will wake up your taste buds real quick.

Tags: side dish, American, Summer

Ingredients

  • For the Salad
  • 1 pound
    fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3
    celery stalks, diced
  • 1
    red onion, thinly sliced
  • 15 ounces
    dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 15 ounces
    chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • For the Dressing
  • ½ cup
    apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup
    unsweetened apple juice
  • 3 tablespoons
    sugar
  • 2 tablespoons
    Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon
    cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon
    black pepper, freshly ground
  • celery leaves, for garnish
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Equipment

  • large mixing bowl
  • small saucepan
  • whisk

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Preparation

  1. 3 mins

    First, blanch those green beans in boiling salted water for about 3 minutes until they're bright green and still got some snap to them. Drain and shock in ice water, then drain again.

  2. In a big bowl, combine your blanched green beans, celery, red onion, kidney beans, and chickpeas. Toss everything together gently - we want to keep those beans intact, cher.

  3. Now for the magic - in a small saucepan (not aluminum, honey, it'll make your dressing taste metallic), whisk together that vinegar, apple juice, sugar, mustard, cornstarch, and pepper until smooth. (Keep that whisk moving - cornstarch loves to clump up on you if you're not paying attention.)

  4. 5 mins

    Put that pan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with your whisk, for about 5 minutes until it thickens up nice and glossy. You'll know it's ready when it coats the back of a spoon.

  5. Pour that warm dressing right over your bean mixture and toss everything together until every bean is coated in that sweet-tangy goodness.

  6. 8 hrs

    Cover and let this beauty chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours - overnight is even better. The flavors need time to get acquainted, you know?

  7. Before serving, give it a good stir and garnish with some fresh celery leaves if you're feeling fancy.

Notes

This salad keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge and actually gets better as it sits. Perfect for those summer gatherings when you need something that travels well and feeds a crowd.

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