Butter Bean Salad with Artichoke Hearts and Feta

Directions

1. To make the Butter Bean Salad, we will start with the butter beans themselves. I realize that these beans are not very common outside of home gardens or farmer’s markets, so the directions for this recipe will be working under the assumption that you have resorted to the freezer aisle in the grocery store and grabbed a 16 oz. bag of them. If you can get your hands on fresh butter beans, please use them! Just keep in mind that the cooking time will be a little longer as most companies will blanch or par-cook the beans before freezing them. Most frozen veggies these days come in “steamer bags” where you can cook the frozen beans in the microwave relatively quickly. If you can find something like that, great, otherwise you will need to bring 6 or so cups of water to a boil and cook the butter beans for about 15 to 20 mins, or until tender.

2. While the butter beans are cooking, you can make the “dressing” for the salad. Begin by finely mincing the capers, pickled jalapeño peppers and a large clove of garlic (which should produce about a teaspoon of minced garlic) and toss into a small mixing bowl. If you have garlic chives available, please use them as they add an interesting flavor, but if you don’t have them, substitute regular chives or scallions instead. In either case, finely chop the herbs or scallions and add to the same mixing bowl. Next add in the mayo, white wine vinegar and a splash of the pickling liquid from the jalapeño jar. Mix together with a fork and add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Once the butter beans are tender, transfer them to a bowl of ice water to prevent them from cooking further. Allow them to cool for a minute or two and then let them drain thoroughly while you cut the other vegetables.

4. Drain the artichoke hearts and then rinse them once more. Sometimes artichoke hearts can pick up a slightly metallic taste if stored in a can and rinsing them will usually take care of that. Each can typically holds 6 to 8 artichoke hearts and that is more or less the ratio we’re looking for. Quarter each artichoke heart length-wise and add to a large mixing bowl. Cut a red onion in half, remove the skin, and then finely julienne one half of the onion. The other half can be used for another dish (I’m sure you can find a use for them in tomorrow morning’s scrambled eggs or home fries). Add the julienned onions to the bowl with the artichoke hearts.

5. By now the butter beans should be good and drained and so they can be added to the same mixing bowl mentioned in the last step. Take a moment now to add some salt and pepper directly the veggies. There is some salt and pepper in the dressing, but not enough to properly season the veggies. Toss the veggies to even distribute the salt and pepper and then add in the dressing and toss them again to coat.

6. The salad is now ready to be served, but I would recommend giving it 30 mins or an hour in the fridge to let the flavors meld and come together. While there will be no difference in flavor, I would recommend adding the crumbles of feta cheese right before serving for the sake of presentation. I find that feta cheese has a way of looking a little less appealing when mixed with things ahead of time. Garnish the salad with some more chopped garlic chives or scallions and serve cold or at room temperature with a large serving spoon.