White Bean Salad with Peppers, Goat Cheese and Mint

With the temps finally feeling like summer up here in New Hampshire and the lack of air conditioning in the house, we have been having our share of salads lately. I have to keep them interesting if I expect my husband and son to have anything to do with them so I had to get creative with what I had in the cupboard and fridge this past week.

I had a bag of dried navy beans and a few dried cannelini beans so I soaked them overnight and cooked them very simply on the stove with just a little salt and olive oil.  I had a few sweet baby bell peppers left over that needed to be used as well as part of an onion.  With the addition of some garlic, garlic scapes, vinegar, olive oil, goat cheese and fresh mint and I had the ingredients for a great salad.

White Bean Salad with Peppers, Goat Cheese, and Mint

Adapted from  Joanne Weir

1 cup dried white beans

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

5 tablespoons white balsamic pear infused vinegar, plus more if needed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 or 4 baby bell peppers, cored, seeded and minced

1 small red onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

5 ounces fresh goat cheese, for topping

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, cut into thin strips, for garnish

Pick over the beans and discard any stones or damaged ones. Cover with plenty of cold water and let soak for 4 hours or overnight. Place the beans in a saucepan with plenty of water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low and simmer until the skins just begin to crack and the beans are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Drain the beans.


In the meantime, in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar to make a vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add to the warm beans and let sit until the beans cool.  When the beans have cooled, add the diced peppers, onion, and garlic and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and additional vinegar, if needed.

Note:  I doubled all of the dressing ingredients.

Once we had enjoyed this salad for a meal Friday night, I took the left overs on Saturday and ran them through the food processor with some more Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Cayenne Pepper and made a delicious white bean hummus that we have been enjoying with crackers.

This post is being linked up with Hearth & Soul Hop,  Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, What's Cooking Wednesday and Make a Food-"e" Friend.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a wonderful week!