Thirty Minute Thursdays: Warm White Bean Salad with Thyme


Some foods are just made for certain weather. I don’t even mean the obvious ones – piping hot soup and freshly baked bread during a blizzard or fresh tomato and mozzarella salad in the midst of a heat wave. There are other dishes, more subtly tied to a climate or season, that just make you feel right when eating them at that time of year. This warm white bean salad from Rachael Ray is one of those. As I ate it, it just worked with the chill that had developed outside. This dish was made for winter, and I don’t know that I would have thought that before tasting it.

It’s warm but not heavy, and savory in a gentle way. It really is a wonderful dish, and whether you serve it as a side dish or a lighter main course, I really think you’ll like it. I doctored it up a little – swapping in spinach for the radicchio, mostly – and think that you could reduce the oil if you really wanted to. But then, this is a dish to comfort you in colder weather, and doesn’t a salad richly dressed in healthy olive oil sound indulgent enough to do just that?


Warm White Beans with Thyme, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4 larger or 6 smaller servings

The Ingredients
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped1
2-3 cups spinach, torn
4 cups white beans, drained and rinsed if canned
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

The Method
Heat the oil in a medium skillet, then add the garlic over medium heat and sauté for 2 minutes. Add in the thyme, beans, and spinach and toss to coat and combine. Season to taste with pepper and allow the mixture to warm through, another approximately 2 minutes. Garnish, optionally, with fresh thyme leaves, and serve.

Notes:
1I used a combination of fresh and dried based on what I had in my kitchen, and really enjoyed it – so don’t feel tied down to either option. Work with what you have and what you like.




 


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