Salad made with red beans, cream cheese, red onion, and fresh seasonal lettuce
A few spoonfuls of this salad bring a pleasant fullness to your stomach. It’s instrumental in the morning when consuming large amounts of food is hard, but you’re still hungry. Along with arugula, lamb’s lettuce and sorrel are great additions, but wild garlic is ideal. Using wild garlic allows you to skip the regular garlic. This salad is versatile and allows for many variations. For instance, you can use soy sauce instead of salt, which pairs well with the beans. Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar to the bowl for extra flavor.
Ingredients (Serves 4):
- Black pepper (ground): to taste
- Canned red beans: 400 g
- Salt: to taste
- Lemon: 1 piece
- Garlic: 2 cloves
- Olive oil: 50 ml
- Arugula: 100 g
- Cream cheese: 200 g
- Red onion: 50 g
Instructions:
- Prepare the Beans:
- Open two cans of red beans in their juice, drain, and rinse with cold water.
- If you prefer using home-cooked beans instead of canned ones, you’ll need to start preparing the salad the night before.
- Soak the beans overnight, then simmer over low heat until cooked.
- Mix the Salad:
- Mix the cooked beans with finely chopped red onion and greens, such as arugula (tear into bite-sized pieces for convenience).
- Add crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and cream cheese.
- Season and Serve:
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Allow the ingredients to sit together for two minutes before serving to let the flavors blend.
- Serve the salad with a glass of Nobile di Montepulciano wine if there’s any left from the night before.
Enjoy this delicious Tuscan salad!
