Friday, July 17, 2009

Carrot, Dill & White Bean Salad Recipe

Last night, in an effort to feel more like a sane human being, I decided to forego schoolwork and instead make a nice dinner for myself and eat on the patio while reading Vanity Fair. My favorite cooking blog 101cookbooks had posted a delicious looking recipe for a carrot, dill, and white bean salad, so I decided to try it. And ... it was fabulous! I'll post her original recipe below and let you do with it as you see fit.

But first I'll tell you what I changed... I added a a bit a feta and used chopped white onion instead of shallots. Also, I doubled the lemon juice in the dressing. For the beans I used 1 can of canneloni, 1 can of butter beans, and 1 can of some other random white bean produced by Goya.

I had some of the left overs for lunch today and I have to agree with her that it's even better the next day. I will definitely make this again.

DRESSING:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots

SALAD:
more olive oil (or ghee) for cooking
2 cups sliced carrots, cut 1/4-inch thick on deep bias
3 cups cooked white beans
scant 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey)
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and shallots in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.
In your largest skillet over medium high heat, toss the carrots with a splash of olive oil or a spoonful of ghee (I love ghee with carrots). Let them cook in a single layer - they'll give off a bit of water at first. Keep cooking, tossing gently every three or four minutes until the carrots are deeply browned. All told, about twelve minutes.

Add the beans and dill to the skillet and cook for another five minutes, or until the beans as well heated through. If you are using beans that weren't canned you can allow them to brown a bit as well (just cook a bit longer, and stir less frequently) - they can handle this in a way that most canned beans can't. If you need to add a bit more olive oil to the pan - do so.

Place the contents of the skillet in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle with the brown sugar and pour the 3/4 of the lemon-olive oil mixture over the top. Toss gently. Let sit for ten minutes. Toss gently once again, taste and adjust with more salt or sugar or lemon juice if needed to balance the flavors. Serve warm or at room temperature and finish by sprinkling with the almonds just before serving.

Serves 6 - 8 as a side.

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