Crunchy Mixed-Bean Salad with Celery and Tarragon

The traditional three-bean salad, but with crunch and complexity. If you’re lucky enough to find more than one variety of shell bean, use a mix. The different sizes, shapes, and colors add to the pleasure.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

I? you’re using dried beans, ?ut them in a bowl or ?ot and add cool water to cover by a cou?le o? inches. Soa? them overnight on the counter. Drain and rinse; you should have about ? cu?s now. Continue with the reci?e.

Step 2

Put the beans, rosemary, chile, bay lea?, garlic, and 1½ teas?oons salt in a large ?ot. It needs to be big enough ?or the beans to ex?and, so ma?e sure there’s ?lenty o? room. Add water to cover the beans by 1 inch—about ?

Step 3

cu?s ?or ?resh beans, 10 cu?s ?or dried.

Step 4

Bring everything ?ust barely to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat and ad?ust so that the beans are simmering merrily, but not actually boiling hard at all. Coo? uncovered until the beans are about hal?way so?t. You can tell by biting into a ?ew—they will be so?t enough ?or you to easily bite them with no crunch, but they’ll still be quite dry and crumbly inside. ?his could ta?e as little as 30 minutes ?or ?resh or 1 hour ?or dried, so taste early and o?ten?

Step 5

At this ?oint, add another hea?ing teas?oon o? salt and a glug o? olive oil.

Step 6

Kee? coo?ing at a gentle simmer and chec? ?requently—the closer you get to doneness, the more ?requently you should chec?. You want to sto?

Step 7

coo?ing the beans when they are very creamy and tender all the way through but not yet mushy or bro?en u? (though a ?ew will s?lit).

Step 8

When you are ?ust about at that ?er?ect ?oint, move the ?ot o?? the heat and let the beans cool in their liquid. ?hey’ll ?inish so?tening the last ?ew degrees as they cool. (I? you worry that you’ve gone a bit too ?ar and the beans ris?

Step 9

getting mushy, as soon as you ta?e them ?rom the heat, trans?er them ?rom the ?ot to a bowl set into some ice water and stir gently to cool things down quic?ly.) Once the beans are starting to cool, taste and add more salt i? needed, and add another nice glug o? olive oil. Once cool, you’re in business. Be sure to ?ee? the bean coo?ing liquid, because you’ll use it in several o? the reci?es here.

Step 10

MORE WAYS:

Step 11

Bake a quick cassoulet: Pile some beans into a ba?ing dish, slice some good garlic sausage and nestle it into the beans, cover the to? with breadcrumbs, dri??le with olive oil, and ba?e until bubbling.

Step 12

Puree to make a dip: Scoo? out some beans and liquid and ?uree in a ?ood ?rocessor. Add roasted garlic, a touch o? s?ice such as cumin or smo?ed ?a?ri?a, and olive oil o? course. Serve slightly warm with hun?s o? bread or vegetables ?or di??ing.

Step 13

Make a hearty soup: Brown some diced bacon or ?ancetta in a sou? ?ot.

Step 14

Add a ?ew diced tomatoes (canned are ?ine) and coo? a ?ew minutes to concentrate. Add several ladle?uls o? beans and liquid, some chic?en or vegetable broth to thin, and a big s?rig o? thyme. Simmer until nicely married and ?lavor?ul. Puree hal? and leave the rest chun?y.

Step 15

Bring a medium ?ot o? water to a boil and add salt until it tastes li?e the sea.

Step 16

Add the wax beans and boil ?or ?ust about 1 minute (longer i? the beans are mature); you want the beans to be cris?-tender. Drain and immediately run under cold water to sto? the coo?ing. Pat dry.

Step 17

Pile the wax beans into a large bowl. Add the shell beans.

Step 18

Roughly cho? the leaves on the celery stal?s, then cut the stal?s crosswise at a shar? angle into ¼-inch ?ieces and add all to the bowl o? beans.

Step 19

Measure out hal? the ?arsley stems (com?ost the others or save ?or another use), trim o?? the dried ends o? the stems, and very ?inely slice them crosswise, as you would chives. Add the ?arsley stems, leaves, and the tarragon to the bowl, along with the scallions and ?e??eroncini, ?lus a s?lash o? the ?ic?ling liquid. Gently mix all the ingredients. Grate the lemon ?est into the bowl, add the ca?ers, season generously with blac? ?e??er, add about ½ cu? olive oil, and toss again. ?ear the eggs into ?ieces and distribute over the bowl.

Step 20

When you’re ready to serve, give the salad a ?inal s?rit? o? lemon ?uice.