Bean Salad

There’s a notion among members of my family that I can be a bit of a health freak  because I enjoy making and coming up with salad ideas. I have a cousin who to this day likes to remind me that I am erring from my duties of supplying him a different salad whenever he’s in town. Considering he has been here the entire 5 weeks plus because of the lockdown , this is definitely something I plan to surprise him with once we get to visit each other while maintaining a safe social distance.

When I see beautiful fresh produce,the thought has always been to treat it not just with respect but to enhance the natural flavours rather than drown it. So as much as I enjoy frying , blending and sauteing with native ingredients to make kolambu , chutney , subzi, poriyal and so many other delicious complexities ,which make Indian cuisine what it is …I enjoy cooking with exotic ingredients just as much. Especially if these are sourced from the hills close to Coimbatore.

When we get to share our interests with other like minded people , it goes more than just whipping up meals or getting together for supper club dinners. There’s a sense of sharing and helping each other which is what I have come to treasure the most. So when one friend came across a source for produce like artichokes, zucchini ,broad beans, kale, rhubarb, swiss chard , parsley etc grown organically she quickly came up with an idea to help the farmer and have some of us (who lived close by) reap the benefits of cooking with these beautiful ingredients.

It is this kind of sharing and thoughtfulness which I believe then gets reflected in the cooking. I did not have a recipe for this bean salad. All I knew was how it was to be cooked. My friend had shared a picture of a colourful salad a few weeks earlier which showed these broad beans with bell peppers etc. It looked great for the summer. I was initially oscillating between a hearty bean soup or a salad and finally made this. I am so glad I did and equally delighted to share it with you all.

I literally worked with ingredients on hand. So the fresh green beans made up the bulk of the salad, the broad beans added the texture and pretty pretty quotient. We made sun dried tomatoes last year, in bulk, so re-hydrated those and sliced up some olives. A quick light dressing and that was it. It took less than half an hour from conceptualisation to execution. It looked yummy, tasted great and reiterated the philosophy of eating fresh produce sourced consciously.

I am not sure when we will get these broad beans next but I do think this salad can be tweaked to include double beans or kidney beans in place of the broad beans.

I do appreciate your feedback on whatsapp and e mail but would also love it if you could spare a moment to comment here below the recipe post. Thanks so much. Stay safe and take care.