Black-eye Bean Salad with Lemon & Shallots

This simple Greek-style salad is perfect for a light lunch - bruschetta-style - on top of crusty bread, a picnic or as a side to a main meal. Black-eye beans are easy to prepare as they do not require soaking and cook quickly.

Ingredients

• 2 cups black-eye beans
• 1 tsp salt, optional
• 4 shallots, sliced into 1 cm lengths
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Place beans and salt in a large saucepan and cover with plenty of water (i.e. 3 litres). Bring to the boil and cook, half covered, for approximately 50 minutes or until beans are tender.
2. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Place drained beans in a large salad bowl.
3. Add shallots, oregano, olive oil and lemon juice and combine all ingredients gently using a large metal spoon. The mixture is meant to be slightly mushy. Serve warm immediately or store in refrigerator for up to several days.

Serves 5

Tips

• You can find the beans easily at Asian and Indian shops.
• Split the white portion of the shallots lengthwise before slicing them to release more flavour.
• To make a delicious spread for toast, add chopped raw onion to leftovers and puree in a blender until smooth.

Per serve: energy 920 kJ (220 Cal); protein 6 g; fat 17 g; saturated fat 3 g; cholesterol 1 mg; carbohydrate 12 g; fibre 5 g; calcium 24 mg; iron 2 mg