A can of beans and a dreamAs a person not on TikTok, I cannot tell you when or how I became aware of the term “dense bean salad.” It must have been entirely through cultural osmosis, the way you wake up one day knowing every word to a song by the Chainsmokers — two men you could not identify in a police lineup — only because it plays every single time you pick up your meds at CVS. What I can tell you is that the dense bean salad, a “TikTok food trend with staying power,” as my friend Ella Quittner wrote last week, has rattled around in my brain like an earworm for months. It’s exactly as it sounds: a salad of definitely beans and probably some other things, filling and full of fiber. Violet Witchel, the woman who coined the term, doesn’t purport to have invented something as primordial as the humble bean salad. But the internet has a way of making what’s old feel new and dense with promise. Hetty Lui McKinnon does, too. Think about fattoush and panzanella. Think about cowboy caviar. Their DNA runs through her fresh corn and black bean salad with corn chips, a 20-minute recipe that, like the best dense bean salads, is great to make ahead for a desk lunch or a picnic. The beans and corn can hang out in the vinaigrette for up to four hours; just pack the chips and avocado separately, and toss them in right before serving. Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad With Corn ChipsHetty’s no-cook chili bean salad is similarly assembled, similarly dense. Hold the corn and add pintos, chopped onion, tomato and bell pepper to the black beans for all the familiar flavors of chili, a cold-weather favorite, now built for summer. But a stacked toppings bar — sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, corn chips — favors no season. Chef Isaiah Screetch’s saladu nebbe, adapted by Korsha Wilson, is also bright with tomato and bell pepper and awaits your next cookout or barbecue. His bean of choice for this make-ahead-friendly dish is nutty black-eyed peas; the serrano chile and cucumber play so nicely with plenty of zippy lime in the dressing. Chickpeas and white beans are also wonderful D.B.S. candidates. Sue Li’s bright white bean salad with fennel and celery gets even better as it sits, soaking up the tart dressing of lemon and orange juices, white wine vinegar, Dijon and olive oil. Or steer your white beans in a more antipasto direction with Hetty’s roasted pepper, white bean and mozzarella salad, simple and so summery. Melissa Clark also pairs legumes and fennel in her white bean salad with crispy cheese, a great use for those Parmesan crisps I’ve been seeing in the snack aisle of the grocery store. Arugula and basil keep things pleasingly fresh for the season. Though don’t overlook her classic bean salad, crunchy with celery and dense as ever with chickpeas, cannellini beans and kidney beans. Before it gets too hot, set aside some time to prep David Tanis’s white bean salad with roasted cauliflower, which needs 30 minutes to sit and mingle. But don’t sweat if you forget to make it before the temperature spikes and you retire your oven. Grab the JBL speaker, throw on some Chainsmokers and take that cauliflower out to the grill for a smokier dense bean salad.
White Bean Salad With Crispy Cheese
Saladu Nebbe (Black-Eyed Pea Salad With Tomatoes and Cucumbers)
White Bean Salad With Fennel and CeleryFor a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started. Email us at theveggie@nytimes.com. Newsletters are archived here. Reach out to my colleagues at cookingcare@nytimes.com if you have questions about your account.
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