Three – Bean Salad with Cumin, Cilantro, and Oranges
Sep 7, 2008
Summer salads are the new black, they are so in vogue. At restaurants I’m ordering salads as my main course. Restaurant salads are no longer an after choice, chefs everywhere are focusing on upgrading the boring green side salad. This summer alone, I have eaten so many unique and wonderful salads, watermelon anyone? maybe baby beet and tangerine?
So when I was given strict instructions yesterday that I should buy beans to make a three – bean salad, I was very happy to do so. John my boyfriend had a craving for the salad. Not having created this before, I scoured the cookbooks both online and off and decided to try America’s Test Kitchen version. I was glad I choose this recipe as the dressing was so tasty, the combination of cumin, red wine vinegar, lime juice, and crushed garlic was so refreshing. We couldn’t get enough of the dressing, we dipped our grilled sourdough into the leftover dressing to soak up what was left. For my first attempt, this was a big success. And, you know you have a winner on your hands when you get asked for the recipe.
Ingredients
| ¾ |
cup red wine vinegar |
| ¼ |
cup lime juice |
| 1 |
teaspoon ground cumin |
| ¾ |
cup sugar |
| ½ |
cup canola oil |
| 2 |
medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press |
| 1 |
teaspoon salt |
| ½ |
teaspoon ground black pepper |
| 8 |
ounces, green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch long pieces |
| 8 |
ounces yellow wax beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch long pieces |
| 1 |
(15.5 ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained |
| ½ |
medium red onion, chopped medium |
| ¼ |
cup minced cilantro leaves |
| 2 |
oranges, cut into segments |
Serves
6
Prep Time
1 hour
Cook Time
20 minutes plus 4 hours
Directions
Heat vinegar, sugar, oil, garlic, cumin, lime, salt and pepper in small nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about five minutes. Transfer to large non- reactive bowl and cool to room temperature.
Bring three quarts water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and green and yellow beans; cook until crisp – tender, about five minutes. Meanwhile, fill medium bowl with ice water. When beans are done, drain and immediately plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process; let sit until chilled, about two minutes. Drain well.
Add green and yellow beans, orange segments, kidney beans, onion and cilantro to vinegar mixture; toss well to coat. Cover to refrigerate overnight to let flavors meld. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. (Salad can be covered and refrigerated up to 4 days).
I didn’t read the complete recipe until I had the ingredients, so I made the three bean salad and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour, the salad tasted great and the flavors had melded by then (but leaving it overnight, would have been even tastier).
Credit
Cook’s Illustrated American Classics
Filed Under
Salads
Spices Used
Cumin
Other Ingredients Used
Green Beans, Kidney Beans and Yellow Wax Beans
4 Comments
“This look yummie.”
—Bill, about 1 year ago
“great recipe. I tried it last week, and you are right, the dressing was to die for. Great blog btw. ”
—Adam, about 1 year ago
“Great recipe! Very creative.”
—Lucia, about 1 year ago
“I never liked three bean salad, just the thought of it would make me shiver. But this receipe, it's the best three bean salad I ever tasted I now make it for the holidays and my family and friends request it at all our gatherings. The celantro makes it unique and I crave for more receipes like this.”
—Marianne, 5 months ago