Directions

1. Drain beans and place in saucepan with the bay leaves. Add cold tap water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer about 30-45 minutes, skimming the foam, until beans are tender but not soft.
2. Remove beans from the heat and add the 3 tablespoons kosher salt. Stir well and let beans stand 15 minutes in the water to absorb the salt. Drain beans and transfer to a large bowl. Add the black olives, red peppers, parsley and mint. Set aside.
3. In a large saute pan combine onions, oil, salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat until onions are tender and golden brown. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
4. Allow onions cool to room temperature, then add to the beans.
5. Prepare the dressing by combining the white wine vinegar, mint leaves, mustard and red chile flakes in a blender. Puree. With the machine running, slowly add the garlic and olive oils to form an emulsion. .
6. Pour dressing over the beans and serve.

 Note

If you want to make your own garlic oil, remove the loose papery skins from heads of garlic and cut off the pointed ends of the heads. Arrange garlic heads in a shallow baking pan, packing tightly. Pour enough corn oil into pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the garlic heads. Cover pan with foil and roast in a 325°F conventional oven 30-45 minutes until garlic is very soft. Let cool to room temperature and remove the garlic heads. Pour the oil through a chinoise and reserve. When garlic is cool, squeeze the roasted pulp from the skins and use in another recipe.