White Bean Salad with Blistered Tomatoes and Herby Salsa Verde

This white bean salad recipe got its inspiration from two things: the unbearable heat of D.C. summer & my friend Tanya Sichynsky's killer salsa verde recipe. I felt compelled to create my own recipe that incorporated this sauce because it's honestly so good you could eat it out of a bowl on its own. Not to mention it's always humbling to shout out a friend who loves food & cooking just as much as you do! 

I adapted the salsa verde recipe ever so slightly to fit my vision of this salad. Mainly, I added an entire Serrano pepper because I love spice & I also didn't muddle the herbs. I wanted the herbs to be more roughly chopped because it gave the salad a nice texture. Whip this up in 15 minutes to serve at a summer BBQ or enjoy it yourself on a very hot summer day, and you won't be disappointed! 

Ingredients

1. 1 shallot

2. 1 serrano pepper

3. 4 cloves garlic

4. 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

5. 1 bunch cilantro

6. 1 bunch parsley

7. 1 bunch mint leaves

8. 1 can white beans

9. 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

10. 1 small carton cherry tomatoes

11. 1 avocado

12. 1 small red onion

13. 1 lime

14. Salt & pepper to taste

15. Red pepper flakes

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes 

Servings: 2 servings

Steps

1. To make my adapted version of Tanya's salsa verde, finely mince 1 shallot, 1 serrano pepper [seeds included] & 4 cloves of garlic & let sit in 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar while you chop up the herbs.

2. Finely chop 1/2 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup parsley & 5 mint leaves. Slowly mix together with the marinating shallot, serrano pepper & garlic, alternating a pinch of herbs with 1 tablespoon of olive oil at a time.

3. Season with salt & pepper to taste. For an extra kick, add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes.

4. For the white bean salad, open & rinse a can of white beans in a colander. After washed & patted dry, pour into a shallow bowl.

5. Heat a small pan with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil over medium heat & cook about 10 cherry tomatoes until they begin to blister [about 7-10 minutes]. Keep the pan covered because the tomatoes will burst open as they cook.

6. While tomatoes cook, chop up 1 avocado into thin slices or small cubes & thinly slice 1/8 of a small red onion.

7. Once tomatoes are blistered & have softened, turn off stove & let cool. Mix a few big spoonfuls of the salsa verde with the white beans until evenly coated.

8. Add avocado, red onion & blistered tomatoes to the white beans & garnish with a few squeezes of lime juice.