Mediterranean black-eyed bean salad

Have you had a special bean salad recipe to take to every gathering? Here is my crunchy, easy, fuss-free, Mediterranean black-eyed bean salad.

Do you have that one Salad you always take to a gathering knowing fully well that it will be completely devoured though it is not completely a looker? Mine is this Mediterranean black-eyed bean salad. I have lost count of how many times I made it and believed I shared it with you all, till one of my friends pointed out that I missed it.
Sorry, so here it is, the Mediterranean black-eyed bean salad.

Why would you like this recipe?

• You can’t go wrong, it is that simple: As far as you can cut, chop and mix this salad really cannot go wrong. All the veggies are chopped, the beans drained and added, crumbed feta and a bit of spices and herbs. That’s all that makes this light and easy salad.
• It is healthy: this light summer-perfect salad is as healthy as it is easy. Beans are good protein and the crunchy veggies, well, everyone knows they are good. So the combination with the useful fats from feta forms almost a balanced meal.
• It is wholesome: you can have just the bean salad as lunch and still be light yet full. Bean salads are great this way.

Ingredients for black eye bean salad

With some fresh produce and beans, this bean salad comes together easily.
Black eye beans: these are small-sized legumes with a black patch on one side that gives its name. You can start from scratch, soak the beans for 4 to 6 hours and pressure cook them till soft to make this recipe or simply drain a can. If starting with a can, ensure it is not salted so you can be sure before adding any to the salad.

Salad vegetables: this is a basic version of Mediterranean salad so I have used cucumbers and tomatoes. Lebanese cucumbers or green cucumbers are perfect. You don’t have to peel them unless you want to. For tomatoes, use vine-ripe ones rather than Roma tomatoes. You can choose cherry tomatoes too for that slightly sweet flavour.

Olives: the salty bites of the brined olives along with the oil that they are soaked in bring that classic Mediterranean flavour.

Feta: crumbly feta cheese is a delightful addition to all light salads. They are sheep’s milk cheese and is a low-calorie, low-fat, brined cheese. You do get them in both creamy and crumbly varieties. For this salad recipe, the crumbly one is the best.

Herbs:  you can add fresh or dried herbs to this recipe. My mix consists of oregano, mint, parsley and coriander. I had a fresh bunch of herbs from my garden, so used them. Now you don’t need all of them. You could just make do with oregano and mint. When using dried, half the amount as the flavour will be intense.

Salad dressing: This is a very simple salad dressing. Use the oil that is used to marinate olives to bring better flavour with the lemon juice and salt. Since the herbs are already added to the salad, you can avoid them here. alternatively, you can add crushed dried herbs to this dressing so that they spread evenly.

Let’s make the bean salad

This bean salad recipe gets so easily done. Drain, wash and set aside the beans. Chop the tomatoes and cucumber and add them to the salad bowl. Clean and chop the fresh herbs. If using dry herbs, add them to the dressing to get an even mix. Add the drained beans and give a good mix. Pour in the salad dressing and mix well. Finally, crumble the feta on top and the recipe is ready to serve.

What to serve with this salad?

The Mediterranean black bean salad is fabulous with most grilled recipes. You can do seared tofu, roasted cabbage steaks or grilled paneer to serve with this salad. As a wrap, you can use this to stuff a beetroot cheela to add a bit of volume to your breakfast.

How long does this stay?

Here is my best-kept secret. If you are making the salad and go through all the steps except the feta and refrigerate overnight, you get the best flavour in every bite. When ready to serve crumble the feta and the salad is ready. Similarly for saving the salad for meal prep, don’t add the feta till consuming. The salad stays well for 3 to 4 days if it lasts that long! Mine never does.

Stay connected.

Summers are perfect to make and share salads. There is a beautiful lightness to these salads that makes you want them more often than ever. Let us know if you liked this salad in the comments. Before you move on, checkout these two similar ideas from Kalyani – Bean salad with spinach and mint. and Priya-lentil salad with tahini

To all my lovely friends who were waiting for this recipe, sorry for the” not sharing before “. Do stay subscribed and let me know if you like to see something specific on this blog.
See you at the next post.

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