Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Cold White Bean & Herb Salad – Mmm, Good Stems!

I’m showing this quick and easy white bean and herb salad for several reasons, not the least of which is to give you a perfectly delicious way to use up the end of that already used once bunch of parsley or cilantro. 

You told yourself you were going to add them to your next stock, forgetting you don’t make stock, and the sheared remains end up in the back of the vegetable crisper where they die a slow, slimy death. Well, this may be the answer.

Both cilantro and Italian parsley have tender stems that pretty much taste exactly like the leaves. By slicing the last half of the bunch thinly, across the stems, you have a perfect addition to any simple, cold bean salad. Besides herb stem recover and utilization, this recipe deserves to be in the rotation for two other very good reasons. It only takes like five minutes to makes, and goes beautifully with any and all of the traditional grilled or barbecued summer meats.

This video also reminds me that you wannabe food snobs need to stop making fun of people that don’t like cilantro. For about 10% of the population, due to certain receptors on the tongue, cilantro tastes nasty, which explains why so many people detest the stuff. The good news is that parsley works even better, so everybody wins.

On a spice note, I used Aleppo pepper here instead of cayenne or pepper flakes, and I hope you do the same. I only discovered this pepper recently, and just love it. It’s hot, but not too hot, and has a bright, fruity flavor I think you’ll really enjoy. Please note: In the video I said it was my new favorite pepper, but I only did that to make cayenne jealous. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 portions:
1/2 bunch (the stem end) Italian parsley or cilantro, chopped
1 can (15-oz) white beans, rinsed and drained
3 cloves minced garlic
1 rounded tsp Dijon mustard
salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Aleppo pepper to taste
2 tbsp white wine or champagne vinegar (or rice vinegar if you want it a little sweeter)
3 tbsp olive oil

27 comments:

Unknown said...

I'll be trying this next time I am asked to bring a side dish for a BBQ or get-together! Also definitely going to look for Aleppo pepper next time I'm at the store. Just as a heads up, it looks like you missed the mustard in the ingredient list on the blog post.

weeza said...

You don't mention the mustard or herbs in the recipe. It looks delicious. Just the kind of salad my daughters enjoy, too.

Sandra from Montreal said...

Geez Chef! What did cayenne pepper do to piss you off!? :)
Amazing recipe, as usual! Thank you!

Sandra from Montreal said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Toshiko Suisei said...

Dear Chef John! Thanks for your blog comment regarding cilantro! Taste-wise it's a genetic thing; and I owe a large portion of my Hispanic recipe repertoire to this herb. Somewhere shortly after the turn of this century I stopped going to restaurants in the U.S. that seemed to suddenly discover cilantro and chopped it onto EVERYTHING!... tastes just like soap to me.

But anyway, friends and fam seem to enjoy my Hispanic recipes and I think the delicacy of the herb lends itself well to being served as a condiment on the side for those who like it.

ice pandora said...

Mhmm looks really appetizing!
I love whitebeans c: Xx

cookinmom said...

Cayenne, jealous? Never!...I just bought some cilantro and I too have the same problem with the leftovers. Sometimes I will make two cilantro pistou with leftovers so that I will have it in the summer with tomatoes from the garden as cilantro grows best in the my winter garden.

Unknown said...

Chef John, could I add some sun-dried tomatoes in this salad? do you think it'd make a good match?

Vincent said...

Cayenne instead of beans?
Bring it on.

Chef John said...

If you enjoy sun dried tomatoes in sure you'd like it. I don't like the taste so I wouldn't but that's just me.

Unknown said...

I could be wrong but I think the reason California has Champagne is because when the agreement that only Champagne would come from the correct region in France was signed the United States was in the middle of Prohibition, and there was no legal alcohol production. Just something I remebered from a wine class I took from a guy who's name I forget.

Anonymous said...

Love your Videos!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Love your videos

The ODR said...

Canned Beans??? Who are you, and what have you done with John?

Psyrixx said...

Making this to accompany the beerbecue flank steak for 4th of July! It's going to be a great start to the holiday weekend.

Brother Preacher said...

This bean thingy is FANtastic! Once again chef - thou hast scored big. This is absolutely going in the summer rotation. Thank you!

Eric A. Stach said...

You are late to the Aleppo, my man! It's Syrian MSG!
(and yes, you can see I'm a frequent listener, first time commenter ...)

Eric A. Stach said...

You are late to the Aleppo, my man! It's Syrian MSG!
(and yes, you can see I'm a frequent listener, first time commenter ...)

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John! I always read your recipe and follow them. I'm moving to a new place and I need to buy cookware. Would you please tell me some of the products you use? Thanks!

Chef John said...

Sorry, don't do product recs! I have a mix of virtually every brand. Le creuset, allclad etc.

Nise said...

Hi Chef John! Today I made your white bean salad but I doubled it...then on a whim I poured it into my food processor and made the most delicious white bean dip! If I have any leftovers, it'll be great in wraps all week. Thanks and I love your spicy wit...I look forward to your sense of humor as much as I do the recipes.

Unknown said...

I just tried today using Parsley.
Incredibly easy and delicious
Chef John, You're the greatest

Unknown said...

I just tried today using Parsley.
Incredibly easy and delicious
Chef John, You're the greatest

Unknown said...

Made this bean salad before and it was so easy and delish, want to do again. Couldn't find on recipe list! Versus scrolling down blogs of salads, think better to search a topic, like Salads, then list each to choose from. I had to Google to find thinking not yours, but there it was in Google search.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for finally explaining why I detest cilantro. Tongue receptors--who knew!

Here's some bonus info for parsley lovers...if you have parsley in your garden (and you should!), allow it to winter over. Put on your coat, trot out to the garden, brush the snow aside and grab a handful of glorious parsley. It's not quite as perky as the summertime version, but it holds up to the cold quite nicely.

Michele Cryan said...

NEW FAVORITE PEPPER???? WHAT?
Okay, new fav pepper and you said "round the outside" once. Is it just me or do we think aliens may have abducted our beloved CJ?

Unknown said...

Could i use large butter beans..??