Bean and Walnut Salad

Bean and walnut salad is a simple, filling, and flavorful recipe. Properly cooked beans combine perfectly with chopped walnuts, offering a balanced texture and pleasant aroma. It is an ideal dish for fasting or for a light meal, easy to prepare and very versatile. Serve cold, as an appetizer or main course, accompanied by fresh bread.

Red beans contain many vitamins and minerals, are practically fat-free, but contain fiber necessary for the proper functioning of the digestive system.

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  The beans must be soaked in water overnight, so that the water completely covers the beans. Next morning, rinse them, transfer them to a pot, pour cold water over them, and put them on the stove. When the beans start boiling, add salt. To make the beans boil faster, add a tablespoon of very cold water to the boiling water every ten minutes. I boiled the beans for forty minutes.
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  Remove the shells from the walnuts and dry them. Then grind them. You can grind them however you like: into very fine crumbs, large crumbs, or even walnut paste. I ground the walnuts in a blender, so they came out in large and very small pieces. However, it is better to put in a little effort and crush the walnuts with a rolling pin: this will make them more flavorful due to the oil released.
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  Cut the onion into half-moons or finer, fry it in olive oil until soft.
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  Drain the beans in a sieve and place them in a pan with the onion. Add the walnuts, season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Pour a quarter of a glass of water into the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and leave on low heat for 15 minutes. Then press the garlic into the pan, stir and leave covered for another 5 minutes, with the heat turned off.
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  The salad can be served immediately. However, I prefer to let it cool down – this way all the flavors will combine and the taste will be more intense.