Tuscan Bean Salad

We’ve written in the past about the virtues of the low-sodium canned beans produced by Eden Organic (see archive); here’s a wonderful way to serve white beans in the Northern Italian tradition. If you are going to make it with dried beans, you may want to cook them the night before you make the salad.

Serves 4; 31 mgs of sodium per serving

Ingredients:

2 15-oz. cans of canned low-sodium white beans or 2 cups dried navy beans simmered until tender
3 tbsps. chopped parsley
2 tbsps. chopped basil
1 tbsp. chopped sage
freshly ground black pepper
juice of half a lemon
olive oil as needed

Directions: If you are using dried beans, wash them in cool water and boil for 20 minutes. Then drain and boil again until they are tender; this could take up to 2 hours. While the beans are simmering, you can flavor them with black pepper and a lemon wedge, fresh herbs or a couple of garlic cloves.
Drain the beans and put them in a large bowl with all the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Let stand for 1 hour before serving.