Salad of Butter Lettuce, Cranberry Beans, and Tomato

The beans get cooked and dropped into a dressing while still hot so they absorb lots of flavor. The tomatoes add bright notes to the salad while the lettuce texture plays well with the other elements. The beans could be made a day or two ahead, and would easily mix into other preparations.

INGREDIENTS:

1 head butter leaf lettuce, cleaned, dried, and torn into bite-sized bits

3-4 cups braised cranberry beans (see Basic Braised Shelling Beans recipe on site), cooked without dicing the onion and garlic-just halve the garlic and quarter the onion, and use thyme left on the branch

¼ cup white onion diced

2 cups of Two White Vinegars Dressing, White Balsamic Vinaigrette, or White Wine Parsley Vinaigrette (see recipes on site)

2 medium tomatoes or 1-1½ heaping cups tomatoes, seeded and cut into ¼ inch dice*

2 branches celery, cleaned, threaded, and cut into 3/16^th inch dice

¼ cup pine nuts

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

Braise the cranberry beans according to the recipe, but follow the caveats as listed above. When the beans are done, drain them and discard the onion, garlic, and thyme. Give the beans a light rinse with hot water and place them in a non-reactive bowl. Pour 1 cup of the dressing on the still-hot beans. Add the ¼ cup onions and stir in gently. Allow the beans to cool, and then transfer them to a refrigerator, chilling them.

At service, toss the lettuce in a non-reactive bowl and drizzle with just enough dressing to moisten the leaves. Toss to mix and combine, and divide between 4 chilled plates. Add ½ the tomatoes to the beans and mix in, then divide evenly, using a slotted spoon so excess dressing can run off, between the plates. Scatter the rest of the tomatoes and pine nuts over the salads, season with flaky salt and pepper and serve.

Chef’s Notes: If you have cherry or grape tomatoes, cut them into quarters from stalk to flower. If you have a mix of colors, use them all. Good vinegar is key here as there is nowhere for poor quality vinegar to hide, and much of the flavor of the salad comes from the vinegar. You can change vinegars if you wish, and dependent on what you are serving this with. A nice touch is to heat the pine nuts just before serving the salad. This is not so much to toast them as it is merely for the contrast, so heat a few seconds in the microwave or pop them in the oven long enough to heat them up, but not color them.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen