Sweet Balsamic Bean Salad

This sweet and tangy bean salad knocks the socks off any shop bought (or horrors of horrors, tinned) offering. You can easily mix and match the beans, using up half tins of beans that may be hanging around. The fresh green beans and tomatoes really add to the final dish, but just make it with tinned/soaked dried beans if thats all you have and you don’t fancy a trip to the shops. I’m thinking this would be a great BBQ accompaniment, should it ever be warm enough this summer!

This recipe is inspired by the Sugarbeans recipe in Celia Brooks Brown’s Vegetarian Foodscape but has been altered to suit my taste, and had the sugar content toned down quite a lot!

Sweet Balsamic Bean Salad (dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, sesame-free, soya-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes a bowlful!

• 2 tins mixed beans (I used 1 tin of mixed beans, 1/2 tin of sweetcorn and 1/2 tin of black beans)
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• handful of green beans, blanched
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsps caster sugar
• ground pepper, to taste

– Warm the beans up so they absorb the dressing flavours, I bring them to a simmer in a little water and then drain.

– Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together the balsamic, olive oil, sugar and seasoning

– Tip in the warm, drained beans and stir to combine.

– Leave to cool, then stir in the remaining ingredients.

– The salad is fairly robust and will easily keep for a few days in the fridge.