[Janeymiddlewife]

make a bean salad with green beans, broad beans, butter beans (tinned) & vinaigrette, can I freeze it, provided the beans are al dente - we are travelling to a picnic on Saturday, but won't get to eat the food for about 5 hours, so thought i'd take everything frozen, then it can defrost in the car

[mumofstig]

The oil and vinegar dressing will split I think, so may not be very nice
I would freeze the beans and take the vinaigrette seperately

[madcat]

I'm worried that the vinaigrette will separate or make it soggy ...  the rest will be fine.  Could you take the dressing in a separate jar?  it will be a great salad, btw!

Oppps Mum has beaten me to it !

[Janeymiddlewife]

Thanks both!

[8doubles]

Put  a 2ltr milk carton full of water in the deep freeze , stays frozen for 2 days if kept in a cool box.
Chilled bean salad will be far nicer than frozen.

[wighty]

Over the next two weekends we are going to four concerts, albeit 45 minutes drive away.  I keep everything in the fridge until the last minute and then put it in the cold box together with the five frozen 'freezer blocks'.  Today I have made the lemon steamed chicken for tomorrow and a quiche for Saturday.

[sloegin]

Put  a 2ltr milk carton full of water in the deep freeze , stays frozen for 2 days if kept in a cool box.
Chilled bean salad will be far nicer than frozen.
[/
I agree the flavours will improve if left for a day or 2

[Janeymiddlewife]

OK - so that seems to be 2 for & 2 against    hhhmmm - now I'll have to do a controlled experiment and let you know!

[Madame Cholet]

Like the sound of it can I replace the broad beans with borlottis, Do you cook the french beans first?
I'm vegetarian and i'm trying to eat more pulses and less cheese.

[Janeymiddlewife]

Like the sound of it can I replace the broad beans with borlottis, Do you cook the french beans first?
I'm vegetarian and i'm trying to eat more pulses and less cheese.

You could use borlottis, probably any bean you like, not so sure about red kidney beans though - a bit big & flavour doesn't seem quite right - but each to their own! With green beans  I just show them the water - sometimes if i'm in a real rush, i just put them in a heatproof jug and pour boiling water over them, leave them for  a minute or two, then refresh them in cold water & drain, as long as they're not too chunky. Just haven't tried this combination before.
What I have tried to copy was a M&S recipe for aubergine, rice & lentil salad - quite yummy, if a little time consuming. It's one of those recipes where you just multiply ingredients according to how many you want to feed!

Equal parts of red camargue rice, puy lentils, brown rice & wild rice
3 or 4 spring onions
1 stick of celery
1 large aubergine
garlic infused olive oil
salt
rice wine vinegar
any combination of fresh herbs you like - eg thyme/basil/mint

Boil rice & pulses together as per instructions until just cooked.
Meanwhile cut the aubegine into thin slices lengthways, sprinkle with salt and leave for 10 - 15 minutes until moisture collects on surface
rinse aubergines and pat dry
preheat grill to high
brush aubergines with olive oil and grill for a few minutes on each side until golden brown
cover with clingfilm so they don't dry out
drain rice & pulses, finely chop onion, celery & herbs
Combine all ingredients in a bowl
Mix equal parts of olive oil & rice wine vinegar & shake in a screw top jar
pour over salad - can be eaten warm or cold, but better if left for flavours to develop


You could also use the mix to make veggie burgers, if you process it a little in a blender, maybe add a few breadcrumbs to bulk it out?
Enjoy!