This Spanish inspired White Bean and Pepper Salad recipe is great for vegetarians and omnivores alike. The dressing is the key. Well worth the effort, it looks and tastes great…
Tip : The ingredients for the dressing are really important, you can substitute lentils or other types of beans, but will also need the peppers and the onion to make the dish,
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 16 oz can cannellini beans strained and rinsed
- 1/3 whole red and green bell pepper cut into 1/4" dice
- 1/3 medium red onion diced
- 1/2 cup dried currants
- 1/2 cup celery stalk finely diced
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage links
Dressing
- 1 large clove grated garlic
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Garnish
- 5-6 sprigs Italian parsley or fresh oregano coarsely chopped
- 5-6 tomatoes baby plum tomatoes cut in half
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting the recipe.
Dressing
- Combine 1 large clove grated garlic, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1 tsp granulated sugar, 3 tbsp tomato paste, 3 tbsp sherry vinegar, and 2 tsp kosher salt in wide mouth jar and using an immersion blender, combine all ingredients. Then, while the blender is running, slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil. Blend until the mixture becomes thick and totally emulsified.
- Set dressing aside and allow the flavors to combine, up to 2 hours before using
Salad
- Drain 1 16 oz can cannellini beans and rinse and place in a medium mixing bowl.
- Peel and finely chop 1/3 medium red onion.
- Chop 1/3 whole red and green bell pepper into 1/4" dice.
- Chop 1/2 cup celery stalk into 1/4" dice.
- Combine chopped vegetables with drained beans and add the dressing to the mixture, blend to combine,
- Set aside while the sausages are cooking 10-15 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup dried currants to the vegetable, bean mixture and gently stir to combine.
Sausage
- Place 4 small link sausages or 2 large Italian sausages in a non-stick frying pan and cook over medium high heat until the sausages are nicely browned on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Serving
- Roughly chop 5-6 sprigs Italian parsley and slice 5-6 tomatoes baby plum tomatoes.
- Mound a good portion of the vegetable mixture on an individual serving plate.
- Sprinkle with parsley, the baby tomato and some more currants,
- Cut sausages into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices and top the salad with the sausage
