Lemony White Bean and Zucchini Salad

Quick and easy to put together—and loaded with protein and nutrients—bean salads are a summer staple here at Copywriters’ Kitchen.

Our family includes several vegetarians and I often whip up a bean salad when others are eating grilled meat or chicken. This Lemony White Bean and Zucchini Salad is equally delicious served cold or at room temperature—and it packs well for summer picnics.

Lemony White Bean Salad is infinitely flexible. Experiment with a variety of ripe summer vegetables, substitute your favorite vinegar for the lemon juice and play around with different fresh and dried herbs and seasonings.

On my last visit to Westchester Greenhouse, my local farmer’s market, the zucchini looked especially tender so I thinly sliced and sautéed the squash and stirred them into my bean salad.

Other vegetables that work well in Lemony White Bean Salad:

• Roasted red or yellow peppers, sliced
• Green beans, steamed or sautéed in olive oil
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Cubed potatoes, pan-fried in olive oil
• Scallions, thinly sliced

As you know, I have a prejudice against canned beans. Home-cooked beans are firmer and more flavorful than canned beans—and dried beans take almost no effort to cook, especially when you use a crockpot. That said, you can of course substitute rinsed canned beans for home-cooked in this recipe.

Lemony White Bean and Zucchini Salad

2 cups white beans, cooked, or one 15-ounce can
½ purple onion, chopped fine
2 zucchini
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon, strained
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ cup black oil-cured olives
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. To prepare dried beans, rinse and pick over one pound of navy or cannellini beans. Dump them into a crockpot, cover with at least 2” of water and add a teaspoon of salt. Cover the crockpot, turn to appropriate setting and go read a book—or go to work, run errands, etc. Several hours later, when beans are cooked, drain 2 cups for the salad. Spoon remaining beans and cooking liquid into 2-cup containers and freeze for future use.
2. In the meantime, thinly slice the zucchini.
3. In a skillet, heat two tablespoons oil over medium-high flame.
4. When oil is fragrant, toss in zucchini. Stir and sauté for one minute. Add salt and pepper to taste, adjust flame as needed and sauté zucchini for 3-5 more minutes. Remove from flame and set aside.
5. Chop the onion.
6. In a medium-sized bowl place beans, onion and zucchini.
7. Drizzle remaining olive oil and lemon juice over ingredients in bowl. Add garlic, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently to avoid bruising the tender zucchini. Serve immediately or chill until ready to eat.

Serves 4.