Three-Bean Salad with Fennel

Cool, crunchy and fresh … the mild savoury licorice flavour of raw fennel is always deliciously refreshing in warm weather. It's also part of a substantial and nourishing spring lunch in this attractive salad adapted from Yamuna Devi's Lord Krishna's Cuisine and provides a delightful contrast in colour, texture and taste with three different kinds of beans and a brisk lemon, herb and seed seasoning.

This is my contribution to My Legume Love Affair, one of my favorite monthly events celebrating the mighty bean. Susan is the mastermind behind this popular event and the host for the 13th edition is Harini of Tongue Ticklers.

Three-Bean Salad with Fennel

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking Cuisine: Indian Published on July 5, 2009 Cool, crunchy fresh fennel provides a delightful contrast in color, texture and taste with three different kinds of beans and a brisk lemon, herb and seed seasoning in this refreshing spring or summer salad Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup dried chickpeas 1/2 cup dried black-eyed peas 1/2 cup dried red kidney beans 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced 2 hot green or red chilies, seeded and minced 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped 3 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped 1/4 cup olive oil juice of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon sea salt fresh ground black pepper to taste 1 tablespoon ghee or a mixture of olive oil and butter 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon ajwain seeds 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and thinly sliced Instructions: Rinse the beans together* under cold running water and soak overnight under several inches of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Drain and rinse the beans, then place in a medium saucepan and cover again with fresh cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are just tender but still firm. Drain and set aside to cool. Put the ginger, chilies, parsley, coriander, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste in a salad bowl. Heat the ghee or olive oil-butter mixture over medium heat in a small frying pan. Toss in the black mustard seeds, ajwain seeds and caraway seeds and fry until the black mustard seeds start sputtering. Remove from heat, and pour the seasonings straight into the salad bowl. Whisk together thoroughly, and gently stir in the beans and fennel. Refrigerate before serving. *Note: If you don't want the pink from the kidney beans to bleed into the other beans, soak and cook the kidney beans separately. Makes 6 – 8 servings