If you’ve been asked to bring “the salad” for your next gathering, this is the salad to bring. I’ve never received so many requests for a recipe. It was a huge hit at our marina’s Beer Friday! The beauty of this salad is that there is nothing, aside from a few mint leaves, that will wilt. It can stand on its own for a couple days without getting mushy. But there is a trick, a “must do”, to make this salad work. You need to start out with dried, not canned, white beans. You’ll end up with beans that are small, al dente, and perfectly seasoned with an almost nutty taste. Not the big, mushy, flavorless beans that you get in a can.

The cucumbers in the marina garden were starting to see better days. Time to harvest and pull up the vines. I created this recipe around this one lonely cucumber. It was this cucumber’s time to shine!

Celery Cucumber Salad with White Beans & Feta

Dried Bean Prep

1 cup dried navy or cannellini beans
Water to reconstitute the beans
1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon, Vegetable or Chicken (or substitute with salt)

Dressing

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons celery seeds
Salt and pepper

Salad

1 cucumber, seeded, halved down the middle and sliced
4 celery stalks, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
7 to 8 ounces crumbled feta
1 cup chopped tender herbs, such as mint, parsley, dill or a mix

Let’s start with the beans. The fastest way to reconstitute dried beans is to give them a quick boil and let them sit in the hot water for at least an hour.

Place one cup of dried beans (I used dried navy beans today because they were the smallest, but you can use Cannellini beans or Great Northern beans as well) in a small sauce pan and fill with water to at least an inch above the beans. Let it come to a boil and boil for one minute. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and let sit for an hour.

Drain through a strainer, rinse and place the beans back into the pan. Again fill with water, add the Bouillon, and bring to a boil. If you don’t have Better Than Bouillon you can use salt. Simmer for 30 minutes, then check the consistency. I like my beans a little on the crunchy side, tasting somewhat nutty. If you like your beans softer continue to boil until your desired consistency. Drain and set aside.

Mix the dressing, adjust seasonings as needed and set aside.

Prep the cucumber. You can peel if you want. Since my cucumber was fresh from the garden it had very delicate skin so I did not peel it. It did have lots of seeds so I seeded it with a sharp spoon. Halve down the middle and slice.

Chop the celery, red onion and cucumber and place in a large bowl.

Chop the herbs and chunk up the Feta cheese.

Add the dried beans to the bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss. Fold in the Feta and herbs and toss again gently.

This can be served cold or at room temperature.