Bean Salad with Radish and Fennel

I had another extremely fruitful Saturday at the farmer's market. There were a ton of amazing new things to try. Between the fresh bagels, boxes of strawberries, and mini whoopie pies, my head was spinning. Luckily I was able to pick up a bunch of yummy things. After the farmer's market, I hit Sherman Market to pick up a few extras and stumbled upon a display of Baer's Best Beans. These heirloom beans are grown locally in Massachusetts and Maine by a small farmer who wanted to bring local beans back to Beantown. I grabbed a bag of Boston Roman beans and decided to use some of my farmer's market haul to make an awesome bean salad.

This is super simple, beans with some fresh fennel and radishes dressed with lemon juice and parsley. I added some grated Parmagiano Reggiano because I had it on hand, but goat cheese or feta would work beautifully. Since it's unlikely you'll find Boston Roman beans (google hadn't even heard of them) you can substitute any creamy large bean - like navy or kidney - instead.

Read more for the full recipe!


Ingredients:
1 cup dry beans (kidney, cattle, navy) or 4 cups canned beans
4 medium radishes, washed and thinly sliced
1 small bulb of fennel, washed and thinly sliced
1/2 cup fennel fronds, washed and sliced
1/4 cup fresh curly parsley, washed and chopped
juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 grated Parmesan
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste


Step by Step Instructions:
1. Prepare beans according to package directions (soak, simmer, ect...) and cool
2. In a large bowl, toss radish, fennel, beans and parsley
3. Whisk together lemon juice and zest, vinegar and oil, toss with salad
4. Sprinkle with Parmesan and season with salt and pepper
5. Serve cold