Seven Bean Salad Recipes

Steps:

• Combine the green beans, wax beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, green pepper, onion, and celery in a large bowl; toss to mix.
• Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a separate bowl until the sugar is dissolved; pour over the bean mixture. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight before serving.

Steps:

• Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and add to the ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and pat very dry. Add to a serving bowl along with the cannellini beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, sliced celery and leaves, red onion, peperoncini, olives and parsley.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, peperoncini brine, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Whisk in the olive oil to make a smooth dressing. Pour over the bean mixture and toss well. Season with salt if needed. This salad can be made a day ahead --- the green beans may discolor a bit because of the lemon juice but will taste even better with the longer marination time.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In an ovenproof Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Cook and stir onion, yellow pepper, red pepper, garlic, chipotle pepper and pepper in bacon drippings until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat., Add beans and cooked bacon to Dutch oven; stir in barbecue sauce, vinegar and, if desired, liquid smoke., Bake, covered, 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until heated through. Freeze option: Freeze cooled beans in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if necessary.