The Beach Salad
This is my new favorite summer salad. Completely sun-safe. After 3-4 hours in the sun you won’t find any grody mayo or slimy lettuce. Just a warmer version of the salad that you started with. Sans salmonella.
On a recent trip to Costco I found a dried sprouted bean mix (The brand is truRoots and no, this not a sponsored post.) The blend of sprouted lentils, mung beans, and adzuki beans cooks up in about 15 minutes. You could also use regular lentils. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) would also work well.
Anyways, I love it. And since I’ve been on a kind of Greek/Mediterranean/anything with feta kick lately I chopped some cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh baby spinach (you know it) and dressed it with a simple lemon vinaigrette with fresh herbs. Oh, and feta.
I added some chopped peperoncini peppers for some kick. Olives would be a natural addition (especially chopped kalamata), but I’d rather have a mouth full of sand than a mouth full of olives.
I’ve made this a couple of times in the last month and to put it to the test, we took it to the beach…
it passed with flying colors.
The Beach Salad (Mediterranean Sprouted Bean Salad)
Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked sprouted bean mix (or lentils)
1 whole English cucumber, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cups fresh baby spinach (about 2 handfuls)
3 T chopped fresh herbs (oregano, parsley, mint) or 1 T dried
3 T chopped canned Greek peperoncini peppers + 1 T of juice from the jar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
juice from 1 large lemon
1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper or to taste
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 green onions, sliced thinlyDirections:
Cook the beans (or lentils) according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water until they're about room temperature.
In a large bowl, combine the cooked beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, herbs, & chopped peppers.
In a small bowl whisk together the peperoncini juice, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Drizzle over the salad and toss to combine. Carefully stir in the feta cheese and sliced green onions.
Serves 6-8.
Nat's Notes:
1. A natural addition to this salad would be chopped olives (black or Kalamata), but we no likey. So we didn't.from Perry's Plate
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Kelly — July 18, 2011 @ 11:04 am
This sprouted bean salad is so gorgeous and summer fresh. I love all the healthful inclusions – wonderful.
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theblogisthenewblack — July 18, 2011 @ 11:53 am
This looks awesome! I hate anything with mayo so I am always looking for unique dips/salads that don't have it! YUM!
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Ann — July 18, 2011 @ 3:25 pm
Oh…YUM! I love salads like that – especially when they're sun safe! I have to say – I loved that you used the word "grody"! You gave me a chuckle!
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Joanne — July 18, 2011 @ 5:35 pm
Given that I don't eat mayo, my salads are usually pretty sun-safe. But this one would be sun-safe AND delicious! I've been consuming feta like crazy so I can't wait to try this!
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Kalyn — July 18, 2011 @ 11:16 pm
I saw that sprouted bean mix at Costco and thought it definitely had possibilities. This sounds like a good way to use it!
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Rivki Locker (Ordinary Blogger) — July 19, 2011 @ 2:16 am
I picked up a bag of that VERY SAME stuff at Costco, and used it to make a similar salad. Love the use of feta here. And I love that it's completely sun safe. What a great picnic food!
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Natalie — July 19, 2011 @ 2:21 am
Rivki – Did you make the recipe on the back of the bag? After I made this, I glanced at it and it was a scaled down version of what I had done. Funny… I guess those beans are destined to be in a salad like this!
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Natalie — July 19, 2011 @ 2:56 pm
summer in a bowl! I'm not heading to the beach anytime soon but I won't let that stop me from making this :)
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Emily and Jaime at Everyday Art — July 20, 2011 @ 4:02 am
Looks great! I patiently wait all winter for summer salad season, and this looks like a new one I'll have to try. :) I've been on a meditrainean kick lately also and have recently made some yummy tabbouleh and greek gyros. yum!
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