When it comes to packing items that can be prepped ahead or grilled over a campfire, pastry chef Shannon Swindle knows how to fill a cooler. Fresh off the opening of Funke in Beverly Hills, he met market correspondent Gillian Ferguson at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market to shop for tomatoes, squash, and beans. By blanching the fresh beans and cooking the dry, Swindle assembles a make-ahead bean salad that is perfect for a camping trip or as a backyard barbecue side dish.
Swindle enjoys pork over the fire including sausages, shoulder steaks, and bacon. Spring onions, long green peppers, and fava beans that can be oiled and seasoned then thrown on the grill are additional market offerings that can be easily transported.
Summer Market Bean Salad
Serves 8
Ingredients and Instructions
- 8 oz dried northern white beans
- 8 oz dried lima or cranberry beans
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 small bunches fresh thyme
- 4 smashed garlic cloves
1. Cook each type of bean separately in veg stock or water with bay leaf, garlic and thyme until just tender. Season generously with salt and set aside to cool completely. May be done two days in advance if kept refrigerated.
- 8 oz blue lake green beans
- 8 oz yellow wax beans
2. Blanch separately in heavily salted boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove from boiling water and plunge into ice water to cool completely. Remove and pay dry. May be done two days in advance if kept refrigerated.
- 8 oz snap peas or snow peas
- 1 red onion
- 1 bulb fennel
3. Slice the snap peas into strips and very thinly slice the fennel and red onion using a sharp knife or a mandolin. May be done two days in advance if kept covered and refrigerated.
- 6 garlic cloves
- 8 anchovies
- 2 tablespoons Korean chili powder
- 1/2 c lemon juice
- 3/4 c extra virgin olive oil
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried sicilian oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
4. Purée all ingredients in a blender and set aside. May be done two days in advance.
- 1 c chopped mint
- 2 c chopped parsley.
5. Toss all ingredients together including the fresh mint and parsley. Allow the salad to marinate for one hour at room temperature before serving.