Tough Beans! ...adventures in culinary class

I've been taking culinary classes at George Brown since January (most amazing Christmas present ever) and am really loving it. Every Monday night we tackle a new skill and get to take home a ton of delicious food. A couple weeks ago we made this delicious bean salad. Loved it so much I made it again yesterday with some tweaks. It's great to have in the fridge as a side to wraps or for lunch - something to look forward to! 

Tuscan Bean Salad 

Ingredients:

4 sprigs           Flat parsley stems

1                     Bay leaf

5-10                Peppercorns

1 1/2 cups       Navy beans (presoaked)

2 tbsp              Red wine vinegar

4 tbsp              Extra virgin olive oil

1/2                   Lemon (juice)

1 tsp                Sugar

2-3 cloves       Garlic (puree)

1/2                   Red onion (diced)

2                      Peppers (diced)

3                      Plum tomato (diced)

5-6 slices         Prosciutto (julienne)

1 cup               Asiago cheese (grated)

3-4                  Basil leaves (chopped)

3-4                  Parsley sprigs (chopped) 

to taste            Salt & pepper

Soak the beans overnight, drain and rinse. Transfer to a pot with water covering beans by 1 inch. Add bay leaf, parsley stems and peppercorns (you can make a sachet for the herbs if you don't like them floating around, or do a quick fix using a tea ball). Simmer until beans are tender, about 35 minutes. Drain and allow to cool. 

How to avoid TOUGH BEANS! - don't boil or add salt (only salt when 95% cooked). Also never use metal utensils or rinse beans after the've been cooked.

While the beans are cooking, combine the vinegar, EVOO, lemon and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the red onion (how to dice an onion), marinating it in the vinaigrette to take the bite out. To help get the garlic really fine, sprinkle diced pieces with salt and crush with knife blade. Repeat until desired consistency. Add garlic, peppers and tomatoes to bowl. Depending on how you feel about olives a couple chopped black olives are a really nice addition here.

Add cold beans to bowl along with prosciutto, asiago. Garnish with basil, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Make sure to taste as the salad has several salty ingredients and might not need very much salt.

If you aren't inclined to soak and cook your beans, using canned beans is an easy option to cut down the prep time and get er done fast. I had this with a roast chicken wrap and it was heaven on a plate.

Happy Eating!