Flageolet Bean Salad with Carrots and Fennel
1 cup dry flageolet beans, soaked overnight
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 small carrots, sliced diagonally on a quarter turn
2 stalks fennel, sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 chopped fennel fronds
Drain and rinse beans. Add to a pot and fill with water 2 inches above level of beans. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Partially cover and cook until tender, about 30 to 35 minutes. Drain beans.
Warm 2 tablespoons oil in a large sauté pan. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots and fennel and sauté until lightly colored, about 3 minutes. Add more oil if pan gets too dry. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on low heat to steam vegetables until tender but still crisp, about 8 minutes.
Stir in beans and rewarm. Off from heat, add lemon juice, vinegar, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fennel fronds. Serve warm or cold.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings as an appetizer or side dish.
Joseph Erdos is a New York–based writer and editor, butabove all a gastronomer and oenophile. He shares his passion for foodon his blog, Gastronomer's Guide , which features unique recipes and restaurant reviews among many other musings on the all-encompassing topic of food.