The other day, I was asked how I come up with my recipes. The inspiration varies, but they’re like jazz tunes: once published, I continue to play and let them evolve. The recipe in my latest Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon is among those that I’ve been riffing on for years.
The salad began as a way to use some of my favorite homemade condiments, which I later included in my cookbook, The Complete Guide to Pickling: the bright pink vinegar and softened flowers of Pickled Chive Blossoms, the complementary flavor of German-Inspired Spicy Mustard, and Pickled Nasturtium Seeds as the homegrown stand-in for capers. To feature Quick Homemade Mozzarella, I plated the salad in layers with slices of fresh cheese and encouraged my cheese-making workshop students to do the same. Then I revised the recipe to share with buyers of vertically farmed fresh greens, using it to showcase the brand’s baby spinach, arugula, and chard. When the company shut down, I altered the recipe again, tossing the warm beans with the first lettuces and herbs to appear in my garden each spring: spinach, arugula, butter lettuce, chives, and sorrel.
Learn more about spring salads and get the complete recipe for Herbed Bean Salad in my column.
Make it, share it.
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Twice As Tasty
Hopefully the evolution of this recipe inspires you to make it your own. I still make my versions with the homemade condiments stashed in my fridge and use it as an excuse to create fresh mozzarella. The greens and herbs alter as the season progresses, as does the type of legume when I have leftover home-cooked dried beans.
If you enjoy using recipes as loose guides rather than strict rules, be sure to check out my work for Taste of Home. In recent months, I’ve been busy enhancing some of their tested recipes with ingredient and technique variations. This includes other recipes that use legumes, like these ones on the Taste of Home website.
You can find more of my recipes that use beans in the Twice as Tasty recipe index and more of my work off the blog here.
Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.
Twice as Tasty 