When you are wanting to try something different, but don’t want to put in a lot of effort, our caramelised onion and bean salad is an absolute winner! It is really simple to make, has very few ingredients, yet packs a punch for the taste buds.
I use a parsley base for multiple reasons. Firstly, its delicious! Secondly, I nearly always have it on hand because it is a solid grower in the garden. Lastly, but probably most importantly, it is good for you. If you’re a vegetarian and looking for ways to get more iron in your diet, a parsley salad will be a great addition to your meal plan. Using fresh lemon juice to dress the salad means you’re adding some wonderful vitamin C, which can aid in iron absorption as well.
This week in our veggie box we were lucky to get some of these gorgeous red onions. If you want to try this recipe on a week where we have brown onions, I can confirm these work great too. Remember as well, it may seem like a lot of onion at the start, but they cook down a lot (some photos below for reference). So if you have small onions, I would use 4-5 or more depending on the size.
Recipe for Caramelised Onion and Bean Salad
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Instruments:
Chopping board
Kitchen knife
Large frying pan
Salad bowl
Ingredients:
1 large bunch of parsley
2 medium-large onions
1 400g tin of red kidney beans (equiv. to heaped 1/2 cup of dried beans)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Olive oil
1 lemon
Salt and pepper
Method:
1. Peel and half your onions, then slice finely. Place in your frying pan with some olive oil on a medium to low heat. Cook these slowly, stirring regularly, for 15-20 minutes.
2. While the onions cook, wash and chop your parsley into small pieces. Place into a salad bowl.
3. Rinse your beans and add to the salad bowl.
4. At the 15-20 minute mark your onion should be soft and browning. At this point, sprinkle on your ground coriander and continue to sauté for a further few minutes.
5. Add your cooked onion to the parsley and beans. Dress with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and some salt and pepper.
We make this salad a lot in our household. Wholesome by itself, or a wonderful side to other dishes. If you’re thinking about it from a nutrition stand point, pairing this with a dish containing some whole grains is a good choice. There are some essential amino acid proteins that are higher in legumes than in whole grains, and vice versa. So by pairing the two, you’re giving yourself a greater quality meal.
Complementary Proteins Chart
Science aside, I hope you enjoy the dish 🙂
Happy cooking. But even more importantly, happy eating!
Bon appétit
