Bean Salad

Fresh green beans are in all the fruit and veg shops at the moment and look so good. I love beans, but getting the family to eat them is usually a struggle. I thought I would try a salad rather than just the usual quick and lazy microwave steam to make them more interesting for dinner.

This salad is fresh, crisp and colourful. A great addition to your main meal or a BBQ.

1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tin of chickpeas
350g green beans, sliced into approx. 2cm lengths
2 tablespoons rice bran oil
350g potato, diced finely into approx. 1 cm cubes
1 teaspoon garlic salt
100g red cabbage, sliced thinly
2 shallots, sliced thinly

Cook green beans how you prefer:
• Either steam in the microwave for a few minutes,
• Add to a small pot of boiling water for two minutes
• Or steam in the Thermomix. Place beans into the Varoma bowl. 500g water in the Thermomix bowl. Cook for 10-12 mins Varoma speed 2.

Once cooked, immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Heat rice bran oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add potato and cook until crispy around the edges. Half way through cooking season with the garlic salt. Set aside to cool.
Place kidney beans, chickpeas, beans, cooled potato and red cabbage into a large bowl. Stir gently to combine. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Dressing:
1/4 teasp salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons pear syrup from tinned pears
1/4 teasp citric acid
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup Rice bran oil

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake well to mix. Keep separate until ready to serve the salad. Shake well before using.

To serve salad, shake dressing in the jar and pour over salad. Stir gently to combine. Scatter sliced shallots over the top to garnish. Serve as a side dish to your favourite main meal or bbq.