Tuscan Bean Salad
Isn’t summer the best? There are so many fresh and seasonal ingredients - I used a lot of those in this salad. It is very easy to make, it is obviously delicious and fulfilling and it can be either served as side dish (on a barbecue?) or as main!
I think that it is obvious to know what inspired this salad - yes, it is basically a summer version of tuscan bean soup. This salad is full of vegetables - there are roasted tomatoes, roasted courgettes, carrots and lots of herbs! To make this salad a bit more filling, there are borlotti beans and if you want to turn it into a proper lunch/dinner, add some grains - I can imagine quinoa or bulgur would be nice with it. And if you fancy this salad to be greener, add kale!
This salad is super easy to make, it is very quick - if you want it even quicker, just use raw tomatoes and did you know that you can eat raw courgettes too? Next time when you’re cutting a courgette, have a slice (I recommend to sprinkle a bit of salt + black pepper on it). Just one thing - only the small, young courgettes are nice to eat raw.
What ingredients do you need to make this healthy salad?
TOMATOES - when it comes to tomatoes, it doesn’t matter that much what kind you will use - I used cherry tomatoes but you can use normal tomatoes.
SHALLOT - it goes to the vinaigrette, that’s why I chose milder shallot instead of onion. Therefore I wouldn’t recommend swapping it but if you need to, you can use red onion or maybe white onion (yellow onions are quite strong in my opinion but it is up to you and your preferences.
ROSEMARY AND THYME - the best is to use both fresh in my opinion. You could replace it with dried rosemary and thyme - maybe around 1 tsp each would be good.
BORLOTTI BEANS - for convenience use canned beans. If you are like me and have various dry beans around, for this recipe you’ll need 1/2 dried beans (soaked over night and cooked for about an hour). You can also replace them with butter beans - they are easier to get.
WHITE WINE VINEGAR - what would a vinaigrette be without vinegar? My go to one is white vine vinegar, in my opinion it goes better with this.
OLIVE OIL - for vinaigrettes I like to use good quality cold pressed olive oil. But you could replace it for rapeseed oil (although I would maybe use only 3 tbsp of it because its flavour - at least the cold pressed one we have at home - is quite strong).
For more vegan salads be sure to check out:
Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad
Broiled White Cabbage with Tahini Dressing
If you make this tuscan bean salad and take photos of it, be sure to tag me on instagram - @bigbakesmanifesto and use hashtag #bigbakesmanifesto too! I love to see people making my recipes.
Serves 2 (as main) or 4 (as side dish)
Ingredients
Vinaigrette
4 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 medium shallot - chopped thinly
2 stalks fresh rosemary - leaves picked and chopped
3 stalks fresh thyme - leaves picked and chopped
black pepper, salt
Salad
200 g tomatoes (cherry tomatoes sliced in halves, normal tomatoes sliced)
250 g courgettes (around 2 medium) - cut in quarters
1 can borlotti beans - rinsed and drained
150 g carrots (around 4 small ones) - cut into rounds
olive oil
salt
Method
First of all, make the vinaigrette - mix everything together - the best is to put all ingredients into a jar with a lid, close it and shake it.*
Preheat oven to 200C/180C (fan) and line two baking sheets with baking paper (or one big one).
Place cut tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Bake for 30-35 mins.
Toss courgettes with 2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp salt, move to a baking sheet (spread it around) and bake for 20-25 mins.
Mix everything together and serve!*
Notes
You can make this vinaigrette few hours ahead, the flavours will get to know each other a bit more and you’ll taste the herbs better.
You can either wait until courgettes and tomatoes are not hot or you can serve it straight away.