Linda's Bean Salad

Monday 9 December 2013

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Divorce is a funny thing.   You not only lose your spouse but in most cases you lose an entire branch of people that have been your family for a very long time, as if by still associating with you they are being disloyal or some such.  Fair dues.  I completely understand.   This is my ex sister in law's recipe that she shared with me eons ago it seems.  It's the best bean salad you could ever eat.   I love it around the holidays because it goes great on the buffet table, lasts forever and tastes better with each day that passes.  Oh, and it serves a lot of people!  The lime juice is my addition to the recipe.  I like the extra tang it gives.

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I dug it out and made it recently for a party we were having at church for the ladies.   Each had been asked to bring a salad to share and I thought this would be the perfect one to bring as it makes a lot and everyone always loves it.

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I was completely wrong.   I was the only one who ate any of it.   The British don't seem to understand bean salad.   To them it's like eating a kangaroo, or an armadillo . . . maybe even snake.   They avoided it like the plague.  Nobody else touched it at all.   I was quite fascinated by their disdain of it actually.  Perhaps someone can enlighten me?  In any case, this is the best bean salad ever.   And I stand by that statement.  Unless you are a Brit, in which case, it's extremely suspect and to be avoided at all costs! ha ha

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*Linda's Bean Salad*
Makes a lot, but keeps for days
This is my ex sister-in-law's recipe which she gave me about 20 years ago.   It's the best bean salad I have ever eaten. 


1 tin of green beans, drained (15 ounce)
1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (15 ounce)
1 tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed (15 ounce)
1 tin flagelot or cannelini beans, drained and rinsed (15 ounces)
1 small tin of sweet corn niblets, drained (about 4 ounces)
1 tin of baby corn, drained (15 ounce) and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, trimmed and chopped
1/2 green pepper, trimmed and chopped
1 stalk of celery, trimmed and chopped 

For the dressing:
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (80 ml)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (65g)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (60ml)
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS lime juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper 


Whisk all of the ingredients together for the dressing in a large bowl.  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.   Dump in all of the well drained tins of beans along with the chopped vegetables.   Toss to coat. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for several hours to allow the flavours to meld, giving them a stir every so often.  (This is a salad which gets better with sitting.  In fact I usually make it the night before I want to serve it, storing it in a well sealed plastic box and giving it a good shake every so often.)  Use a slotted spoon to serve.

18 comments

  1. Maybe the range of ingredients means a lot of people don't like one of them; for example I love everything else in it but I'd never eat sweetcorn so that would be that for me.

    Alternatively, anything primarily bean is heavily associated with hippies, so depending on your audience it could be that.

    Or it could even just be the assumption that it would cause wind (which as I understand it depends on how beans are prepared but not everyone is aware of that).

    I think it looks delicious and different and if I have occasion to make a large amount of fresh food (I live on my own so that doesn't happpen often) I'll definitely give it a go (without the sweetcorn!).

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  2. Linda never adds sweet corn to hers either, Jan, just the baby corn, which taste quite different from sweet corn. In any case this is one of those salads that you can add or take away from any of the beans etc. It just tastes good no matter what!

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  3. Not all Brits feel like that! We have a lot of bean salads at home.

    I do think there may be something in what Jan said. It would only take one thing to put some people off.

    Not me, though! I've bookmarked it!

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  4. Great to hear Pat!

    I have never let ingredients put me off of what I think is a great recipe. I just find something that I would like instead and substitute it for the disliked ingredient. I can appreciate however that not all people are capable of thinking outside the box or even want to!

    Maybe it's just Northerners? I seem to recall never having this same problem down south. Now you have me thinking! lol

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  5. We eat bean salad! But - if I am honest only my husband is English as I was born and raised in Africa and bean-bean salad (as we know it) is a staple holiday dish - you are correct that it does mature and become more delish - as for my husband who is a northerner he LOVES the salad and is often the first to ask for it!! Think it is just ignorance to the deliciousness of the dish and I do't mean that unkindly x

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  6. I think you are right Hawthorn! They are probably afraid to try something they aren't familiar with. Perhaps I should have explained it to them and they may have been tempted! Having said that, this is the second time I brought this dish to a party up here and the second time it's been completely ignored! And yet they ravage gloopy mayo overladen tasteless potato salad?? It baffles the mind! (No offence intended to those who love gloopy mayo overladen tasteless potato salad! To each their own!)

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  7. I like bean salad:)
    Isn't that funy..you just ever know when something will be a hit!

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  8. well, when I divorced the ex that included his family...

    A nice looking salad.

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  9. One man's meat is another man's poison Monique!

    Ramona, I just think it's really sad when couples get divorced after they have been married for a really long time they also lose all these people that they have enjoyed loving friendships with.

    My ex and his new wife have always been welcome in my mom's home as well as my sister and brothers. When you have five children together, it is inevitable that there will be family occasions that will mean both sides will be there. How much nicer if they can get along and be friendly with each other.

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  10. I love bean salad and I'm British.this looks great.

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  11. Glad toknow there is one more of you CG! I just had a thought, maybe it is just British Mormons who don't like Bean Salad? lol

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  12. I think beans got some bad press with the hippy movement and I know that the character Neil on comedy series "The Young Ones" did a lot to put people off lentils and chickpeas (he was a hippy student with appalling hygiene and no cooking skills!)

    In Australia, three bean salad is very popular, so I think Australians would eat it. I'm not sure about Swedes, though. My family would try it as they are fairly adventurous, but a lot here think of salad as being a limp piece of iceberg lettuce and a quarter slice of tomato.

    I love to try new foods so I would have eaten it, especially if I knew that it was YOU who made it.

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  13. Marie, this looks great. I would leave out the baby corn, but like the idea of lime juice. My first cousin has been divorced twice and I keep up with both of the women he was married to on Facebook. Not the norm, but I really liked both of them and it's not seen as any "disloyalty."

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  14. It looks yummy to me. But I live in North Dakota, USA. Maybe it is the corn. We sponsored a German exchange student a few years ago, and he wouldn't eat anything with corn in it.

    Love your blog!

    Lorraine

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  15. I love bean salad and so do my family. I am a Brit living in Canada for 40 yrs and had never heard of such a thing till I lived here. Will definitely be trying this one!

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  16. Thanks all for your comments! xx

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  17. Monica, if I let the fear of gas stop me from cooking and eating things, I'd never cook and eat anything! At my age EVERYTHING gives me gas, lol !!

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