Mediterranean White Bean Salad is made with white kidney beans, called cannellini in Italian. The combination of herbs and vegetables used with the cannellini, and also some feta cheese, along with lemon juice and olive oil, make the salad versatile enough to be served anywhere along the northern side of the Mediterranean Sea.

I found this recipe and a lot of others for the salad on the Internet and I liked this one the best. I also added a few ingredients, ergo basil and red bell pepper and celery. I noticed that this version of the salad had no onion ingredient. Other versions call for some thinly sliced red salad onion. You might think of including that also, so I included it as an optional ingredient.

I describe this type of salad, served cold, as bright and very flavorful. The different textures make it interesting also. It certainly can serve as both the carbohydrate dish and the fresh vegetable dish for a full meal, along with some grilled meat or seafood.

Ingredients: (6 servings)

2, 15 oz. cans of white kidney beans

1/2 cup of fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup of fresh basil, chopped

1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1 red bell pepper, cleaned and diced

1 stalk of celery, finely diced

1/4 cup of very thinly sliced and quartered red salad onion (optional)

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. of olive oil

2 Tbsp. of lemon juice

1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. of salt

3 oz. of feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

Rinse and drain the beans in a colander using cold water.

Rinse the parsley and chop it fairly fine but do not mince it.

Rinse the basil and chop it fairly fine but do not mince it.

Rinse the tomatoes and slice them in half.

Rinse and dice the red bell pepper.

Mince the cloves of garlic.

Combine the beans, parsley, basil, tomato, bell pepper, celery and garlic in a 2 quart bowl.

Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Stir to combine.

Taste and adjust salt and pepper content to your liking.

Cover and chill the salad in the refrigerator for two or more hours.

Either stir in the crumbled feta or serve the salad and sprinkle 1/2 oz. on top of each serving.

Enjoy!