Recipes — Salads

Arugula and Bean Salad with Pumpkin Seeds
Gluten-Free Salads Side Dishes Vegetarian White Beans
4 cups wild arugula 2 cups drained cooked Rancho Gordo white beans, such as Ayocote Blanco, Cassoulet or Royal Corona beans 1 teaspoon Rancho Gordo Oregano Indio Olive oil Rancho Gordo Pineapple Vinegar (or other mild vinegar) Salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted Serve 2 to...

Provencal Tuna, White Bean, and Celery Salad
Omnivore Pescatarian Salads Side Dishes White Beans
This French-style salad comes from our friend and favorite Francophile, Georgeanne Brennan. She says: “Creamy white beans combined with flaky bits of fish and crunchy celery makes an appetizing first course or small plate. Tarragon, one of the classic fines herbes, doubles its flavor here, first in the vinaigrette and...

Chopped Salad with Bean-and-Yogurt Dressing
Holiday Omnivore Salads Vegetarian White Beans
Martha Rose Shulman’s genius Caesar salad dressing made with beans and yogurt got us thinking about bean-based dressings. We experimented and came up with this version, using our pineapple vinegar. For the dressing: 1 garlic clove, halved ½ cup cooked, drained white beans, such as Alubia Blanca or Marcella ½ cup...

Avocado and White Bean Salsa
Appetizers Omnivore Salads Side Dishes Vegetarian White Beans
A unique salsa bursting with flavor and color. What's not to love? Any white bean would work here (black beans would be good, too!). Serve it with chips for dipping, or with grilled seafood for a main course. 1 cup cooked, drained Rancho Gordo Alubia Blanca beans, or other white beans...

Golden Pan-Fried Big White Beans with Wilted Greens
chiles Omnivore Salads Vegetarian White Beans
Yotam Ottolenghi’s seminal cookbook, Plenty, includes a recipe for fried lima beans served with a tangle of wilted greens and soft cheese. Here is our take on that recipe. Of course, we recommend a little Stardust as the finishing touch, but you could also use chile powder or sumac. 3 to...

Roasted Pepper and Royal Corona Salad
Omnivore Salads Vegan Vegetarian White Beans
Lately, I've been indulging in jars of roasted red peppers from Trader Joe's. But I do roast fresh poblano chiles, often. If I have a couple, I will roast them over the gas flame on my stovetop, turning, until blistered all over. If I have more than a couple, I...

Marcella Beans and Cauliflower in a Lemon Caper Sauce
Main Dishes Omnivore Pescatarian Salads White Beans
New York Times contributor Hetty McKinnon recently wrote about Cauliflower Piccata, which on the face of it sounds like a cute way to avoid veal but really, the thought of a lemon caper sauce is very welcome and her dish is great. I made it several times and then followed...

Alubia Blanca, Watercress, and Herb Salad
Gluten-Free Holiday Cooking Ominivore Salads Vegetarian White Beans
In her seminal book, The Mexican Gourmet, author Maria Dolores Torres Yzabal includes a salad with just half cilantro and half watercress. Steve was intrigued by this and started making it at home. He came to love the slight bitterness of the watercress, but he wanted something that could stand...

Pasta with Cicerchia and Mushrooms
Italian Main Dishes Omnivore Other Legumes Salads Vegan Vegetarian
In the Rancho Gordo library, we have a well-used copy of the book Fagioli: The Bean Cuisine of Italy (Rodale, 2014) by Judith Barrett. It includes a handful of recipes that feature cicerchia, Italy's unique, tooth-shaped legume. Barrett recommends fresh oyster mushrooms as a substitute for the cardoncelli mushrooms that...

Lentil and Carrot Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Omnivore Other Legumes Salads Snacks & Appetizers Vegan Vegetarian
Lentils cook very quickly so you don’t have to make a huge batch and then figure out what to do with them. Unsoaked, they cook in about 20 minutes! That’s hard to beat. Obviously, they thrive in hot dishes like soups and stews, but a favorite winter salad has been a...

Garbanzo Salad with Shaved Red Onions and Fennel
Omnivore Other Legumes Salads Snacks & Appetizers Vegetarian
This is the kind of salad that is often described as a good side dish for roasted meat or chicken but we think it's an excellent dinner in itself. The crunch of the vegetables and the texture of the garbanzos shouldn't be underestimated. Dress and season the salad according to your taste. Start...

Lentil Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Chicken, and Feta
Main Dishes Omnivore Other Legumes Salads Side Dishes
This recipe is adapted from Salad of the Day: 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year by Georgeanne Brennan. Georgeanne says: "Earthy, quick-to-cook lentils make a bed for this main-dish salad. For a vegetarian option, substitute toasted walnuts for the chicken." Serves 4 1 cup dried Rancho Gordo French-Style...