BTW......here's a side dish for Q or just about anything else (note, the sugar base flavor does not go well with red wines IMO)......I had this years ago and got off of center recently and found quite a few recipes online and have fixed it at home a couple of times since with admirable (if I do say so myself) results....the following recipe is about the average of them.......(notes to follow below)......
quote:
4 Bean Salad
Ingredients:
Servings: about 10
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas
1 (14 ounce) can green beans
1 (14 ounce) can wax beans
1 (19 ounce) can red kidney beans
1 red bell pepper (any colour can be used)
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
DRESSING
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar (use less if desired)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Drain a 19-oz tin of chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinse well, then drain again; place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Drain a 14-oz tin of green beans and a 14-oz tin of wax beans well and then add to bowl.
3. Drain a 19-oz tin of red kidney beans, rinse well then drain again; add to bowl.
4. Dice up a coloured bell pepper (red, orange or yellow, (green is fine but you won't get the added color which helps the appearance) and add to beans.
5. Peel a small red onion and slice into very thin strips and add to bowl.
6. Lastly, add about 1/2 cup of chopped fresh flatleaf parsley.
7. Now make dressing: in a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegars, oil, sugar, minced fresh garlic, worcestershire, and salt and pepper.
8. Pour dressing over salad ingredients and toss.
9. Cover and refrigerate overnight, stirring occasionally (before serving, taste, may need more salt).
10. When ready, spoon bean salad into a serving bowl using a slotted spoon, to drain off most of the dressing before serving.
Note: I really like this recipe because it is very quick and takes a small amount of effort, both physical and mental......which suits my cooking aptitude to a T.
This is a "basic" recipe, and produces a very fine end result. Personally I use less sugar, a 1/4 cup should be plenty IMO, but you can always correct it to your tastes after the initial mixing is done. It's much easier to add more sugar after mixing than to remove it, but you can adjust flavor by adding more vinegar. A 1/2 cup sugar makes it pretty sweet but many people will like it that way.
Like many basic soup recipes, this one is subject to many variations, such as adding celery, or other "hard" vegetables, cooked if they need to be. One version even added mushrooms.....I think they would be a bit "slick" after sitting in the refrigerator for a while, but to each his own.
One variation uses Italian Salad Dressing (Kraft or other top quality brands, don't go cheap here) as the Dressing. Since I got tired of the taste of ISD years ago on doves, duck breats, etc, I'll leave the results of that variation to others. However, it would make a quick recipe into a extremely quick recipe and probably be very good.
We like more chickpeas, so we add an extra can of them. You could cut back a bit on some of the others but we don't.
I think using fresh frozen green beans is better and takes little more effort (cook on stove in lightly salted water for a few minutes, let cool while draining in collander, and then proceed as if canned,can easily be done while opening other cans, dicing onion, etc, just start the green beans first), but the canned variety is fine.
I'd start off with the "basic" above and then one can localize it to your tastes. I'd add chile peppers (in reason, to taste) possibly some cilantro, more garlic, more onion, etc. The good thing about it is that it can easily be corrected after the initial mixing, just "correct" or add gently. It is easy to add more and hard to remove too much.
If you don't have red wine vinegar, standard apple cider vinegar will work, but you may have to add a bit more sugar to the mix.
I don't find that washing the beans is necessary, we just dump them all in a collander and let them drain off.
Since we had canola oil on hand, we've used that, but I think regular vegetable oil would produce the same results. Olive oil? I dunno, haven't tried it. I think it might be excellent but I'd mix a small sample on the side to check first.
As far as I'm concerned the parsley is basically for color, and can be skipped or cilantro (to taste) substituted. Celery would do the same thing and add crunch as well as color. Carrots? Raw if finely diced, or maybe lightly cooked?
The flavors do blend better if you let it sit for a while in the fridge, BUT I find it is nearly as good just after a thorough mixing and that's a big plus for Qs and other outdoor activities.....the covered dish takes a LOT of fridge space, so eating some first helps that problem out.
Muy sabroso!!! Enjoy.
