Well, y’all, the heat is officially here. I judge that by our first day of temperatures above 90 degrees, which arrived right before the rain hit last week. I felt an impending sense of doom as I ran a quick errand and found my car needed more time than I thought was fair for the air conditioning to begin to kick in.
While most of my friends can’t wait for the thick, humid blanket of summer, I identify as a fall/winter fan and find myself dreading everything about these months – with one exception: the food.
Once the heat arrives, I have no desire for hot meals during the day and crave light, refreshing recipes. It can be a difficult needle to thread, needing more than just a green salad to feel full throughout the day but wanting to avoid anything that leaves me feeling heavy and bogged down.
My favorite compromise lately has been a small variety of bean salads.
I know, I know, that probably sounds like the least inspiring type of meal I could choose, but hear me out. Quick to assemble on a weekly basis and kind to my budget, bean salad recipes adapt easily to what I have on hand and help me manage what’s already in the fridge, lending themselves to be some of the most versatile and delicious summer recipes I’ve found.
One of the bean salads I keep going back to again and again is this Marinated Za’atar Bean Salad I found by self-proclaimed bean enthusiast Yasmeen Ali of the food blog “Munching with Mariyah” (munchingwithmariyah.com).
This salad combines Mediterranean flavors and textures to make for a herby, tangy, bright and creamy dish. This may not be for you if you’re not a fan of olives, but if you love a dirty martini, the bright and briny combination of Mediterranean food, or just want to try something new and delicious, this one is for you.
To assemble this dish, all you need to do is drain and rinse a few cans of beans, zest and squeeze a lemon, chop up some red onion, Castelvetrano olives, artichoke hearts and some fresh herbs, and then make a quick olive oil infused with garlic and spices. While the bulk of the spice used in this dish is the popular Middle Eastern za’atar, Yasmeen also calls for sumac and ground cumin. I always have trouble finding sumac at our local grocery stores, but I did some research and, after understanding its tangy, lemony spice profile, I decided to use the “Fish Monger Fisherman’s Spice Blend” I had in the pantry.
Now, this may seem like an incredibly random substitution, but in addition to salt, pink peppercorns, paprika, fennel, thyme and coriander, this spice blend also contains lemon and orange peel, so I figured, close enough. It ended up working beautifully in this dish, but of course, if you have sumac in your pantry, go with it.
Thanks to the heat, my pepper plants have already started to produce, so I was able to add a few diced banana peppers to the mix this time and topped it off with a partial container of feta I had left over from other recipes, which complemented the flavors of the dish perfectly.
It makes for the perfect warm-weather lunch when you’re in a rush or can’t be bothered to turn on the oven, and the flavors only get better as it marinates in the fridge.
I love to serve this on top of crunchy bread smothered with ricotta cheese, while my husband, Jon, enjoys it over salad greens. Whether you’re a summer person who’s excited for the hot weather ahead or a cold-weather girl like me, at least we can agree that the summer season opens the door for some truly delicious foods.
MARINATED BEAN SALAD
Adapted from “Munching with Mariyah”
Ingredients:
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp. kosher salt
Zest of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup Castelvetrano olives, roughly chopped
12-ounce jar quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 banana peppers, diced
1/2 cup mint leaves, finely minced
1/2 cup parsley, finely minced
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
3 heaping tsp. za’atar
1 heaping tsp. “Fish Monger Fisherman’s Spice Blend”
1/2 heaping tsp. ground cumin
Instructions:
■ Thinly slice the onion and add it to a large bowl. Toss together with the salt, lemon juice and lemon zest, and set aside.
■ Drain and rinse the cans of beans, roughly chop the olives, artichokes, banana peppers and herbs, and add everything to the bowl of onions.
■ To a pan, add the olive oil and garlic over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until it just begins to brown, then immediately take it off the heat and sprinkle in the spices to quickly bloom and bring out their flavors.
■ Pour the marinade over all the salad ingredients and toss evenly to coat and combine. Add the feta cheese and do the same. Taste and adjust salt level as needed. Cover tightly and leave in the refrigerator for at least two hours to marinate before serving. Enjoy.
Kristin is a Columbus local and a graduate of MUW’s Culinary Arts Program. She lives downtown with her husband Jon and her naughty cat Sokka. In her free time she enjoys baking, making stained glass art and hanging out with her friends. If you see her in town, say hi!
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
