Four Bean Salad with Mussels and Bulgur Wheat

There are Sundays when a roast simply doesn't fit the day. This is one of those recipes — put together on a hot September afternoon at Casa Adora with what was already in the cupboard: four types of bean, a tin of mussels, a handful of bulgur wheat, and a bottle of Bionsan probiotic apple cider vinegar that earned its place in the dressing.

It's a four bean salad that works harder than it looks. The beans bring variety in texture and flavour; the bulgur soaks up the dressing and adds a nutty earthiness; the mussels give it an unexpected briny thread that lifts the whole bowl. Make it for two — it's better that way — and set the leftover bean and bulgur base aside for tomorrow's lunch. Add whatever you fancy then.

Serves: 2, with leftover bean and bulgur base for a second lunch
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes (bulgur)

Ingredients

The beans

• 120g drained white beans (half a 400g tin)
• 120g drained black beans (half a 400g tin)
• 120g drained chickpeas (half a 400g tin)
• A small handful of altramuces (lupini beans), rinsed well — roughly 60g

The bulgur

• 80g bulgur wheat (dry weight)

The mussels

• 1 tin mussels in brine or water (approx. 110g drained) per serving — 2 tins if eating together today, or 1 tin today and 1 tomorrow

The dressing

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1½ tbsp Bionsan Depur apple cider vinegar (or another unpasteurised ACV)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked pimentón
• Salt and black pepper

To finish

• ½ red onion, very finely sliced
• Large handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Juice of 1 lime

Method

1. Macerate the onion. Put the sliced red onion in a small bowl with a pinch of salt and a splash of the lemon juice. Leave while you get everything else ready — ten minutes is enough to take the raw edge off.
2. Cook the bulgur. Bring a small pan of salted water to the boil, add the bulgur wheat and cook for 10–12 minutes until just tender but still with a little bite. Drain well, spread out and leave to cool completely.
3. Make the dressing. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, remaining lemon juice, crushed garlic, cumin and pimentón. Season well.
4. Combine. In a large bowl, toss together the four beans and cooled bulgur. Add the macerated onion — juices and all — and the parsley. Pour over the dressing and fold everything together gently.
5. Add the mussels. Drain and pat them dry. Fold in carefully — they're the most delicate thing in the bowl.
6. Finish and serve. Squeeze the lime over the top just before serving.

Tomorrow's lunch

Set aside half the bean and bulgur base before you add the mussels. It will keep in the fridge overnight, covered. Re-dress lightly if needed. The base is flexible: add a fresh tin of mussels again, switch to tinned tuna or mackerel, or serve it as a side salad alongside something simple from the grill.

A note on the vinegar

I used Bionsan Depur — apple cider vinegar with rosemary and honey — for the dressing. Unpasteurised and probiotic-active, it feeds the gut as well as flavouring the salad. You'll find my full review of the Bionsan range here.

This four bean salad sits naturally in my Gut Health Recipes collection — four types of pulse, a wholegrain, and a probiotic-active dressing make it one of the more quietly virtuous things you can put together in fifteen minutes on a September afternoon.

You'll find more ideas in my Fish & Seafood and Veg, Fruit & Pulses collections.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef