You may have made a bean salad in the past and if not, you’ve surely eaten one. They are usually healthy and somewhat tasty, but often unexciting. However, if you combine these fantastic fresh Talley Farms French green and wax beans with the ingredients in this salad, you will have something utterly extraordinary!
The base salad is made with a mixture of three beans; French green beans, wax beans and cannellini beans. I then added cucumber, fennel, red onion, garlic, lemon zest and yummy Castelvetrano olives. I used several herbs for seasoning; Italian parsley, fennel fronds and fresh marjoram leaves. The salad was dressed with a mix of lemon juice, red wine vinegar and some of the cooking oil used in sautéing the beans. But what makes this salad zing is topping it with creamy Greek yogurt and delicious chunks of smoked trout fillet. Incredibly scrumptious!
So easy to make for a crowd. The recipe makes enough to serve 12 large side portions and is simple to assemble. You can easily halve the recipe and can also serve it as a main dish with a nice muffin or bread on the side. I served mine with some honey topped corn fritters and it made a fabulous meal!
THREE BEAN SALAD WITH SMOKED TROUT
Yield: 12 side servings
Ingredients
- 12 oz. (2-3/4 cups) green beans (or an assortment of string beans), string removed if tough, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/3 cup sunflower seed or grapeseed oil
- 2 cans cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 English cucumber, partially peeled in strips, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup Castelvetrano olives
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1 fennel bulb, super thinly sliced on a mandoline
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1 tsp. reserved for garnish
- 1/4 cup chopped fennel fronds, several whole pieces reserved for garnish
- 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
- 3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbs. fresh marjoram leaves, coarsely chopped, 1 tsp. reserved for garnish
- 1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest
- 2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 8 to 10 oz. skinless smoked trout fillet
Directions
- In a 12-inch skillet, cook the green beans in the oil over medium heat until they begin to sizzle, 1 minute. Add 1 Tbs. water, cover, and steam until crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
- Add the cannellini beans, cucumber, fennel, olives, onion, parsley, fennel fronds, lemon juice, vinegar, marjoram, lemon zest, and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix gently.
- Arrange the salad on a large serving platter and top with dollops of yogurt. Crumble the trout into chunks and scatter over the top. Garnish with the reserved herbs and more black pepper and serve.
Notes
- You can easily cut this recipe in half.
- I purchased canned smoked trout at Trader Joe’s and it worked fantastically. A full recipe takes 2 of their cans.
- This recipe can be varied tremendously with other beans, herbs, vegetables, or other add in’s or substitutions based on your preference.
(Printable recipe can be found in my recipe index under Salads)