Black and White Bean Salad with Carrots, Kale Stems, and Radishes

By nzle • March 27, 2012 • 1 Comments

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Author Notes: I spent my Sunday organizing my pantry while a pot of white beans simmered on the stove. Pouring black beans into a jar, I realized that I had JUST a handful left that wouldn't fit inside of it. Why not throw them in with the white beans? I really liked the resulting texture of creamy white beans and more robust black beans, to which I added some vegetables for color and crunch. It made just the right amount of bean salad for a weeks' worth of lunches. This photo is from Feed52 (http://www.food52.com/blog/3108_lunch_at_the_office) -- user amgchem asked for the recipe! - nzle

Serves 4

1 cup dried white beans
1/4 cup dried black beans
2 whole cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons salt
3 whole peppercorns
1 3-inch piece of kombu (helps to break down enzymes in the beans for easier digestion!)
1 large carrot, peeled
stems from a bunch's worth of kale (save the leaves for a salad later in the week)
4 whole radishes (the leaves would be great in that kale salad you might make with the kale leaves)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Place the white and black beans, whole garlic cloves, salt, peppercorns, and kombu in a pot. Cover with water by two inches. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer until beans are tender.
Meanwhile, dice the carrot and kale stems and set aside. Dice the radishes and set aside separately.
When the beans are tender, toss in the carrots and kale stems, give it all a stir, cover again, and turn off the heat. The residual heat will cook the vegetables!
When the beans are fully cool (it's worth the wait -- you want the radishes to stay crisp_, drain the whole mix in a colander, then dump it back in the pan (this really is a one-pot wonder). Stir in the diced radishes and the red wine vinegar, adjust for seasoning, and serve!