Garlicky bean and tomato salad.

This. This is exactly the kind of thing that’s perfect for lunch. Hearty, flavorful, satisfying to keep you plugging through whatever you’re working on in the afternoon. Loaded with toothsome, protein-packed beans, spiked with garlic, showered with herbs. This. Garlicky Bean and Tomato Salad.

I love this quick dressing technique, too, and use for other main dish-type salads. Just sizzle some sliced garlic in olive oil, whisk in lemon juice, and presto!

In this recipe, I’ve used Christmas lima beans from Rancho Gordo—they’re large, meaty and beautifully speckled with purple, and they beg for a starring role in a bean-forward salad like this one.

I enjoy cooking dried beans, because their varieties and flavors are more interesting than canned, but you can certainly pop open a can of cannellinis here; chickpeas would also work well. In the fall, I like making this Garlicky Bean and Tomato Salad with just-shelled cranberry beans from my farmers’ market. This is one of those make-it-with-whatever-you-have-on-hand kind of recipes: use the measurements simply as a guide, and add any extras you like—different type of cheese, maybe some toasted walnuts or pecans, any type of herb, even a handful of baby arugula. Make it yours.

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Garlicky Bean and Tomato Salad Recipe

makes 4 side or lunch servings

2 cups cooked beans (cook your favorite dried beans or use canned)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2–3 oz. smoked mozzarella cheese, diced
Big handful chopped fresh herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, toss beans and cherry tomatoes. Combine olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan and bring the oil to a strong simmer over medium heat; let cook 1 minute. (Do not let the garlic brown.) Remove from heat and whisk in lemon juice. Pour garlic and oil over beans and tomatoes and toss to coat; season well with salt and pepper. Just before serving, add cheese and herbs and toss gently. Finish with coarse sea salt and more pepper.

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