Recipe: Five Bean Salad with Scallions and Horseradish Vinaigrette

FIVE BEAN SALAD WITH SCALLIONS
AND HORSERADISH VINAIGRETTE

1 cup dry chick-peas
1 cup dry cannellini (white kidney beans)
1 cup dry borlotti (cranberry or Roman beans)
1 cup dry black-eyed peas
1 cup dry green lentils
1 cup dry barley
1 carrot, peeled
1 stalk celery, rinsed
1 whole onion, peeled
1 bouquet garni (1 spring rosemary, 2 whole peeled cloves garlic, 2 sprigs thyme, all wrapped and tied in cheesecloth)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus 1/3 cup for dressing
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish
2 bunches fresh scallions, rinsed and cut into 1/2-inch slices (white and light green portions only)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

In separate pots or bowls, soak the chick-peas, cannellini, borlotti and black-eyed peas in plenty of water overnight. Soak the lentils and barley separately for 2 hours.

Fill a big pot two-thirds full with water. Add the carrot, celery, onion and the bouquet garni and put on high heat. When the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in the borlotti and chick-peas, then in 10-minute intervals, the cannellini, the black-eyed peas, the barley, and finally, the lentils. Add 2 teaspoons of the salt. Simmer until the beans are cooked but not mushy, about 20 minutes more.

Strain the beans through a colander, pick out and discard the vegetables and the bouquet garni, and spread the beans out to cool on a sheet pan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over them and stir to coat.

In a bowl, dissolve the remaining salt in the red wine vinegar with a whisk. Add the grated horseradish and the 1/3-cup olive oil and beat with a whisk until the dressing is emulsified.

In a large bowl, mix the beans with the vinaigrette and the scallions. Finish the salad by grinding plenty of black pepper over
it.

Servings: 6-12
Source: Simply Tuscan: Recipes for a Well-Lived Life by Pino Luongo