Nanette's Table White Bean Salad!

Bean Salad:

Nanette's Table served a very special salad with every panini.  We did not believe in French Fries as a side dish, we wanted to be known for our fresh and from scratch recipes.  Everything from our homemade soups, fresh roasted vegetables to homemade quiches from scratch were made daily by me, Nanette herself! 

I grew up eating Cannelini beans in so many recipes my grandmother Angie made.  She always used cannelini beans in her pasta fagioli, she made an amazing bean salad that is so simple, yet every customer I made it for, swore I had some big secret!  I had customers ask for second helpings of this salad all the time!  See, You do not need french fries when Nanette's Table Bean Salad is a choice!  Lucky for you, I am going to share my "big secret"!  It was a special request from a very good customer and friend!  This is for you Gail!

 ENJOY!

Ingredients:

1 can of cannelini beans 

1/4 c. sliced and lightly chopped RED onion ,not finely just rustic, ( you need your fork to be able to stab the onion)

1 medium tomato chopped

1 medium lemon juiced and half the lemons zest

1to 2  T. garlic from a jar that is minced ( to your taste with the amount)  I like a lot!

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Directions:

The most important part of this recipe is how you handle the beans, they are fragile and can get mushy if not handled right. This recipe is few ingredients, but, texture is the most important thing to keep in mind as you put it together!  

***  Drain the beans, rinse carefully and air dry on a paper towel on a cookie sheet for the first few minutes, then be sure to remove the paper towel and allow the beans to continue to air dry on the cookie sheet alone.

***Slice your red onion thinly and then rough chop.  You want to be able to stab this with a fork so chopping finely is NOT what you are looking for. Slice and chop your tomato into small pieces. 

Mix the beans, tomato, onion, lemon zest together in a bowl.  Add plenty of salt and pepper.  More salt than you might think because the beans soak it up.  Add the garlic and be generous with it, again, the beans absorb a lot of these ingredients, so for this to achieve the full flavor, you have to be generous with the ingredients since there are so few.  Now add your olive oil.  Notice, I did not put an amount of the oil....you have to eye this because of the same reasons,,absorption.  I would have to say though it will be anywhere from 1/4 c. to 1/2  of a cup!  

This is always better to be made a day in advance.  Yes, you are right, it only gets better as these flavors all have time to get cozy!  Refrigerate and serve the next day preferably, but, taste first to make sure you have enough garlic and salt,,they are key!  ENJOY!