A delicious lunch recipe when served by itself, this salad is also an delicious side dish for so many meals, especially when you’re grilling. Make it on Sunday and you’ll enjoy snacking on it all week long.
- 1 ½ cups dried cannelini beans (3 ounces), soaked overnight in cold water and drained. (can use canned white beans)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 thyme sprig
- ½ small onion
- ¾ pound green beans
- ¼ cup plust 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives ( 2 ½ ounces), chopped
- salt and freshly ground peppers
- Lime wedges, for serving.
In a medium saucepan, cover the soaked and drained cannelloni beans with 2 inches of water. Add the bay leaf, thyme sprig and onion half and bring to a simmer. Simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally and adding more water to cover as necessary, until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. Drain and let cool completely. Discard the bay leaf, theme sprig and onion half.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the beans until they are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the green beans well and spread them out on a large rimmed baking sheet and let cool. Pat the beans dry with paper towels. Cut the green beans on a diagonal into 1-inch lengths.
In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, chopped cilantro and kalamata olives and season with salt and black pepper. Fold in the cooked, cooled cannelloni and green beans and season with salt and black peper. Serve the salad with lime wedges.
Make ahead: The cooked and cooled cannelloni and green beans can be refrigerated separately overnight. Bring the beans back to room temperature before tossing them with the dressing.
