Legume salads: fresh ideas for good eating with canned food and simple preparations
There are ingredients that seem to have a fixed contract with winter. Legumes, without going any further: just think of chickpeas, lentils or beans and stews, stews and long cooking come to mind; and just imagining them in these hot days makes you want to run to embrace the fan.
But legumes have life beyond the hot dish. As soon as they change the casserole dish for the bowl, they become a great base for complete salads, satiating and full of flavor. Just combine them with fresh vegetables, a good vinaigrette, aromatic herbs, some cheese, egg, tuna or nuts and they work equally well as a generous starter, main course or light dinner.
Moreover, it is not always necessary to start from scratch: a jar of cooked chickpeas, lentils or beans can become a great salad if it is well drained, a good dressing is added and it is accompanied by ingredients that provide freshness and contrast. In other cases, a short cooking or a simple previous preparation is enough. These options allow us to have a fresh and very appetizing dish, ready in a few minutes, especially when we start with already cooked vegetables.
Here are five legume salads perfect for the good weather, some ready in a few minutes and others with a simple previous preparation, from a proposal with roasted chickpeas and avocado to a Portuguese salad of kidney beans with tuna, egg and olives.
Cucumber, toasted chickpea, avocado and feta salad
This salad has everything you could ask for in a simple good weather dish: freshness, creaminess, a salty touch and a spicy touch that makes it much more interesting. It combines sliced cucumber, red onion, avocado and feta cheese, but it is the chickpeas that take the dish to another place. chickpeasThey are roasted with paprika, cumin, garlic powder, olive oil, salt and pepper until golden brown.
The dressing of lemon, mustard, honey and thyme finishes the dish. It is convenient to add the chickpeas just before serving, so that they keep their texture better and do not get wet with the vinaigrette. It is a good option as a complete meal, but it can also be served at an informal table with other fresh or pre-prepared dishes.
Fancy a complete salad that's a little different from the classics? This version ticks all the boxes! Between the crunch of the cucumber, the creaminess of the avocado and the crisp, spicy chickpeas, every bite is full of texture and flavor. The...
Lentil salad with feta cheese
Lentils also work wonderfully cold, especially if accompanied by ingredients that add color and freshness. In this recipe, they are mixed with red onion, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, parsley and feta cheese, a simple but very successful combination.
The key is to cook the lentils until tender, but without breaking them apart, and let them cool before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients. You can cook them at home, watching the point, or use a good jar of cooked lentils: well drained and seasoned, they work wonderfully in this type of salads.
This lentil salad is an easy, healthy and satisfying meal packed with plant-based protein . Combined with juicy tomatoes and creamy feta cheese , it offers a delicious mix of fresh flavors and textures in every bite. Perfect as a light...
Portuguese salad with tuna, egg and olives and white beans
Simple, generous and very home-cooked, this salad is inspired by a very popular Portuguese preparation made with feijão-frade, the legume we know in Spain as alubias carillas. They are small, clear and with a characteristic black spot, and are especially good in cold dishes because they have a firm and pleasant texture.
Here they are combined with tuna, boiled egg, tomato, onion, olives and fresh parsley. The dressing needs no more than olive oil, vinegar, salt and black pepper. It is best to let it rest for a few minutes in the refrigerator before serving, so that the beans absorb part of the dressing and the flavors integrate better.
Simple, generous and packed with flavor, this cowpea salad (also known as black-eyed pea salad ) is a classic of Portuguese cuisine. Made with tender beans, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes and olives, it’s a complete meal that is both satisfying...
Corn tortilla bowl with red kidney bean salad
This recipe has a fun twist because it turns a wheat or corn tortilla into an edible bowl. Just moisten it slightly, place it in a curled mold and bake it for a few minutes until it takes shape. Once cold, it is filled with a colorful salad of red beans, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, black olives, avocado, fried onion and cilantro.
The dressing is very simple: olive oil and lemon juice. Precisely for this reason it is advisable that the ingredients are well drained and cut into pieces that are easy to eat. The result is an easy, colorful and very pleasant dish for an informal meal or a table with several preparations to share.
The recipe is designed with red beans, but it can also be prepared with kidney beans or black beans if a more intense flavor is desired. In both cases, it is advisable to drain them well before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients.
What if we turned our corn tortillas into bowls to hold a mixed salad? A fluted mold, a trip to the oven, and you're done ;-) We'll explain how we did it in the instructions below ↓ For the rest, just combine the ingredients of your choice ;-)
Broad bean and bacon salad
Broad beans have a very particular flavor, between vegetable and slightly sweet, which combines very well with more savory ingredients. In this salad they are accompanied with bacon, shallot or onion, seeds or nuts, and a vinaigrette with olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.
It can be prepared with fresh beans, if they are shelled at home, or with frozen beans already peeled to save time. After cooking, it is important to cool them well before mixing them with the rest of the ingredients. The bacon adds a more intense touch, while the seeds or nuts add contrast and make the dish more complete. It is a somewhat different salad, ideal for those who are looking for a legume recipe that is different from the most usual combinations.
A simple salad that breaks the routine! Thanks to fava beans, you won't feel hungry just 2 hours after lunch. Rich in protein, these legumes are filling and help you stay satisfied until your next meal. Additionally, their iron and vitamin content...
Do you also prepare legume salads at home?
Legumes are not just a spoon thing. As soon as the good weather arrives, they can become the basis of complete salads, fresh and very easy to adapt with whatever we have at hand. Do you usually prepare chickpeas, lentils, beans or broad beans in cold version? Have you tried any of these combinations or do you have a recipe that never fails at home? We'll read you in the comments.
Patricia González
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