Three Bean Salad

 Sometimes I think that I'm so busy trying new things, I forget about the 'classic' or 'everyday' recipes. Last weekend was one of those instances. I'd been trying at least one new recipe everyday, all week and I felt we needed a break. Not to mention I needed a break from the kitchen. I decided on hamburgers, corn on the cob and three bean salad. The salad could be made well ahead of time, and everything else cooked outside on the grill.

I wanted 'plain, ordinary' three bean salad with the sweet and vinegary taste I was familiar with. I did make one change, however. Since I am not too keen on kidney beans,  I swapped those out and used artichoke hearts instead. I used frozen green beans and canned chickpeas for convenience, and artichoke hearts in salt water rather than the marinated variety. I cooked the green beans briefly - about 3 minutes, then drained them and rinsed them with cold water to cool them quickly and keep them bright green.

What I ended up with was 'Three Bean Salad When One of the Beans is Artichoke' or 'Two Bean and Artichoke Salad'. Of course if you like kidney beans, you can always add them back in, or add another type of bean you prefer. As always, change the ratios to suit, but this is what I used.

Bean Salad

green beans - about 10 ounces by weight
Chick peas, 15 ounce can, drained and rinsed
Artichoke hearts (9.9 ounce jar), quartered
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix beans, artichokes and red onion in a bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a jar. Shake well and pour over bean mixture. Chill for several hours or overnight to combine flavors.