White Bean Salad with Cheddar, Bacon, Walnuts

 2 whole heads garlic

1 tsp. EVOO, plus 1/3 cup, divided

2 T plus 1 tsp cider vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

3⁄4 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1⁄4 tsp dried

3⁄4 tsp salt

1⁄2 tsp pepper

3 – 15 ounce cans navy or great northern beans, rinsed 

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 medium orange bell pepper, finely diced

1⁄2 cup chopped celery

1⁄2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1⁄2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1⁄2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Remove excess papery skin from garlic heads without separating the cloves. Slice the tips off, exposing the cloves. Place heads on a piece of foil, drizzle with 1 tsp. oil and wrap into a package. Roast until garlic is very soft and starting to brown, 55 – 65 minutes. Carefully unwrap and let cool 10 minutes

3. Squeeze garlic cloves into a food processor or blender. Add the remaining 1/3 cup oil, vinegar, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.

4. Combine beans, bacon, bell pepper, celery, walnuts and parsley in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Add cheese and gently stir to combine. Serve either room temp or cold.

4 Bean Salad

For the salad

Fresh green beans and fresh wax beans – trimmed and cut; steamed to just about tender, then plunged into cold water. I have no clue the quantity – whatever you need to feed the size crowd you are cooking for.

1 can garbanzo beans 

1 can some kind of red beans

4 green onions, sliced and chopped 

1 or 2 stalks celery, chopped

For the dressing

A healthy 1⁄4 cup cider vinegar (in retrospect, it could go up to a 1⁄2 cup, depending on how much you like vinegar)

1⁄4 cup oil (I used olive; I think canola is more usual)

1 T honey 

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1⁄2 tsp each: garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne

Shake the dressing in a jar or mix in a blender or stir in a bowl and pour over the beans, etc. I dressed the salad about 5 hours before serving it and kept turning the container over to make sure everything was coated.