Skip to main content

Radicchio, Bean, and Feta Salad

4.7

(7)

Canned beans in a radicchio bean and feta salad
Photograph by Julian Cousins, Food styling by Adriana Paschen

Bored with lackluster beans? Associate food editor Kendra Vaculin has a citrusy solution to your legume doom with a lemony dressing combining zest-infused oil and bright juice that pulls double duty as a marinade for canned beans and as a dressing for the salad itself. Marinate any white bean (like cannellini, navy, or Great Northern), then toss them with pleasantly bitter radicchio, thinly sliced raw brussels sprouts, and big chunks of salty feta.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 Servings

Ingredients

1 lemon
4 garlic cloves, smashed
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 15.5-oz. cans white beans, rinsed
1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup raw pistachios
1 head of radicchio, thinly sliced
6 oz. brussels sprouts, trimmed, thinly sliced
½ cup coarsely chopped dill, divided
8 oz. feta

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Remove zest from lemon in wide lengthwise strips with a vegetable peeler, avoiding as much white pith as possible. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice through a fine-mesh sieve or your hand into a small bowl; discard seeds. Set juice aside.

    Step 2

    Heat lemon zest, garlic, red pepper flakes, and oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low, stirring to break garlic apart and reducing heat if oil around aromatics starts to sizzle too much, until fragrant, 10–12 minutes. (The garlic should gently cook but not take on much color.)

    Step 3

    Remove saucepan from heat and add beans, reserved lemon juice, and salt; season with black pepper. Toss to combine; let sit at least 15 minutes.

    Step 4

    Meanwhile, toast pistachios in a dry small skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 5–8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop.

    Step 5

    Combine radicchio, brussels sprouts, and ¼ cup dill in a large bowl. Crumble in feta in large pieces and toss to combine. Using a slotted spoon, add beans, garlic, and lemon zest. Drizzle with infused oil and toss to coat.

    Step 6

    Mound salad on a platter; top with pistachios and remaining dill.

Read More
Bathe greens and chickpeas in a garlicky, tomato-enhanced broth. Stretch a block of Halloumi by grating and toasting it into a topping for the soup.
Tender, juicy chicken skewers are possible in the oven—especially when roasted alongside spiced chickpeas and finished with fresh tomatoes and salty feta.
A Sicilian-inspired kale salad with creamy almond dressing, raisins, and pine nuts. Excellent for meal prep and packing as a desk lunch.
Juicy steak, crisp lettuce, and a blender dressing come together for a breezy summer dinner.
This riff on the Italian classic comfort food gets its verdant color from kale two ways: blended into the base, and wilted among the pasts and white beans.
An accidental recipe (sbagliatio means mistaken in Italian) yields a delicious herby tahini dressing that is excellent poured over lightly blanched green beans.
A luxuriously creamy and bright dressing made with aquafaba, miso, and crunchy poppy seeds makes a star out of summer produce.
Cooking down radicchio with vinegar and sugar until jammy is an eye-opening approach that reveals a world of options beyond salad.