So I’m not going to lie to you… I’m kind of ready to jump the gun and start posting more raw dishes and salads in my fervent anticipation of spring that has not yet sprung. The weather in New Jersey has been insanely nice the last few days and the spring plants in my garden are starting to blink themselves awake.
Which brings me to this week’s salad. It is kind of a transitional seasonal salad in that it uses black beans as the filling portion as well as Kale which is a cold weather green.
You are going to absolutely love the flavor of this salad. The brightness of the dressing plays perfectly with the hearty creamy texture of the beans. Not to mention, the zing of fresh Mint and Scallions really vamp up this dish for you.
For those of you who eat beans, but have trouble digesting them, in this salad they will be easier for you to digest. The beans are soaked before cooked, which means that the digestive prohibiting chemicals on them have been washed off. Cooking them with Kombu also helps their digestibility. The roughage provided by the kale also acts as a tug boat helping pull the beans through the intestines faster and more efficiently. So for those of you who don’t think they can eat beans (but want to), consider giving this one a try.
For the Dressing For This Salad Click Here
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Black Beans, soaked overnight drained and rinsed
- 1 Piece Kombu
- 2 Cups Romaine Lettuce, chopped
- 4 Cups Baby Kale
- ½ Cup Mint, shredded
- 2 Large Scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
- ½ Cup Cilantro
- Refer to notes for dressing
Instructions
- To cook the beans combine in a pot with 5 cups of water, Kombu, and ½ teaspoon of sea salt. Cover and bring to a boil then reduce down to a simmer and cook the beans until they are tender (about 45 min).
- Toss kale, romaine, mint, cilantro, beans, sour krout and scallions together with as much dressing as you want!
Notes
Equipment: Chef knife, 1 Gallon pot and lid, Bowl
For the Dressing - please go to this page: http://eatingworks.com/guatemalan-hot-sauce-recipe/