Olia-inspired Bean & Beet Salad

This recipe is very much based on a gorgeous dish from Olia Hercules’s book, Mamushka. It’s a Georgian red kidney bean salad and there is just something about the combination of flavours - a mix of familiar and unfamiliar that drives me insane (in a good way!!)

I made this for one of our Farm Therapy sessions on a chilly, but crisp October day. We ate it warm (with other salads and macaroni cheese) and it was a delightfully comforting accompaniment. Due to the beans falling apart a bit, it becomes almost like a chucky beetroot houmous - not in flavour - but in vibe!

I proceeded to eat the leftovers 1) cold, as a dip with tortilla chips, and 2) inside a toasted wrap with various other tasty leftovers from a roast chicken lunch.

Serves 4 (as a side)

¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon light brown sugar
a few sprigs of coriander, chopped
a few sprigs of parsley, chopped
a few sprigs of dill, chopped
1 jar / can of white beans, drained
1 large beetroot (or 2 medium), cooked, peeled and chopped into cubes.

1) Put the fenugreek, coriander and fennel seeds into a large dry frying pan over a medium heat. Toast them for a few minutes (keeping a close eye on them) until they are starting to brown and release their delicious aromas!

2) Take them off the heat and grind up the seeds with pestle and mortor.

3) Slice up your onion and put into the frying pan (no need to wash it first) with 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil and a pinch of sea salt. Cook over a low heat for 10-20 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.

4) While your onion is cooking, make the dressing. Mix the vinegar, sugar, the remaining tablespoon of sunflower oil, most of the herbs and salt and pepper in a bowl or mug. (Save some of the herbs to sprinkle over the top).

5) Once the onion is cooked, add the beans and the cooked beetroot into the frying pan and stir over the heat for a few minutes to warm them through.

6) Add the dressing to the pan. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

7) Serve warm (or cold) with a sprinkling of the fresh herbs.

It would be lovely with a fried egg for breakfast.

Or with grilled radicchio and blue cheese over the top and chunks of fresh bread as a main.