Sunday, March 25, 2012

Cannellini Bean and Red Cabbage Salad with a Pesto Dressing

Salad is a newer thing to me, something I've only really gotten to know as an adult.

Don't get me wrong. As a kid, I had vegetables every single night. It was just that when my parents had salad, my brother and I would stubbornly have bowls of chopped veggies. Yes, the same vegetables they had in their salads. Trust me, they tasted really different that way.

And when I would have a bowl of salad, it would always be dressing free. Healthy? Yes. Tasty? Not really.

I really started having salads again when I began going over for dinner for a home-cooked meal each week with two of my dearest friends, both of whom grew up having salad with dinner every night.

We'd have our entree, always fantastic. Then, just when I felt like I had reached my limit, the salad would come out.


Usually it was a BFS, a big fat salad. It would be loaded with greens, veggies and a sprinkling of some kind of cheese. Imagine a salad filled with avocado, hearts of palm, fresh tomatoes and sliced peppers. It was always lightly dressed, with a bit of lemon in the dressing, and always delicious.

Other times, the salad was much more simple. Arugula with a simple dressing and a bit of parmesan. Raw kale with radishes, lightly dressed.

The dinner tradition continues, but I've taken to making my own salads occasionally too. I figure having salad more than once a week might actually be a good thing.

While this isn't the most veggie-heavy salad I've ever had, it's quick and tasty. It came together in under five minutes, and it kept me well fed for lunch at work for most of a week.




Cannellini Bean and Red Cabbage Salad with a Pesto Dressing
recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients
2 19-ounce cans of cannellini beans, well rinsed
4 cups shredded red cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
3 tablespoons basil pesto
A generous sprinkling of salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir well. Let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes to allow flavors to come together. Serve at room temperature

8 comments:

  1. I recently discovered salads too (in the last couple of years, anyways) and I actually kind of love them now so I'm always looking for new recipes. My current fave is romaine lettuce with a light dressing served with prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe--so good. This cannellini bean and red cabbage salad looks delicious!

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    1. Ooh! What a fancy sounding salad. I had something like that in Italy awhile back but I hadn't thought about it sense. I'll have to look into that again!

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  2. red cabbage is wonderful! i also still have to get used to seeing salad as a full meal, so having some beans in it certainly makes it more hearty and filling!

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    1. I've become such a huge cabbage fan lately as I've been using it in more dishes. I've made very few meal salads but this one could definitely qualify.

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  3. This looks SUPER yummy. Can't wait to try it. Love your blog, by the way (and thanks for visiting mine :))!

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    1. Thanks! I was happy to stop by. It's always such a treat to discover a new blog!

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  4. My parents always made the most BORING salads, so I rebelled against eating them for MANY years. But now I love fun original salads with good mix-ins. The pesto dressing on this would absolutely make it for me!

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    1. Yes! I've definitely been more excited about salads since I recognized their potential!

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