3-Bean Salad

You know the one. It always shows up at the family reunion food table?

My cousin sent an email this morning asking if we remembered a family reunion in the 70’s were every aunt brought a 3-Bean Salad. It must have been the ‘salad’ of the year, if all of them were on the same wave length.

In spite of that, she could not find her mother’s recipe for it and was asking if any of the rest of us had a copy. I was (and still am) not a fan of the 3-Bean Salad. I think it is the wax beans or maybe the kidney beans that throw me off it.

I do have a favorite ‘pickled’ salad loosely based on a ‘Greece Salad’ that I make, where I kept all the parts I really like and left out the ones I like less. When I take it to a gathering I usually have nothing to take home. At one event with an international mixture of people, I was getting ready to take home the small last little bit and a Persian gentleman asked if he could have it. High compliment.

So here is my favorite salad.

2 Red Peppers – cleaned, cut into pieces (I like them fairly large) sautéed in olive oil, let cool. Mix with a jar of kalamate black olives (drained) Feta Cheese cubed (I buy the block that is about 4×4 inches) olive oil balsamic vinegar Italian spices (dried in a jar) All these quantities are variable (lol)  If you like more olives, use more olives.  I do mix the oil and vinegar and then pour over the rest.  Stir it up, put it in the refrigerator if you aren’t going to eat it right away.  Actually it gets better as it sits.  

Manga, manga!