Two Bean Taco Salad

It’s November and I’m not eating stews or casseroles or breads or even testing baked goods. Nope. I’m making salad. A big taco salad. I’d like to say that I’m making a healthy push after Halloween and before the year-end heavy holidays, but…I don’t know. I just wanted to make this salad.

The original recipe, which I used to make much more regularly, got a big, lean protein bump from sliced, cooked chicken breast in addition to black beans and cheese. I just don’t eat much chicken anymore (or any other meats), so I decided to just replace it in this recipe with more beans. I had lots of black beans on hand, which I had cooked myself, but instead of just doubling the black bean volume, I opened a can of chickpeas instead. Pinto beans would have been just as nice, and a three-way split of pintos, black beans, and chickpeas would probably be even more exciting. (I like beans.)

The rest of the vegetables are pretty standard and what you might expect for a taco salad: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers. All of the lines for those ingredients in the recipe text below could be qualified with the word “about” when it comes to volumes. Nothing needs to be exact in a salad. I’m sure you know that. Even the identity of the ingredients can be flexible. I, for one, am thinking of adding pepitas and olives.

 

Whatever you intend to toss into your taco salad, I recommend trying the dressing recipe, which I really didn’t change from the original. It’s perky and light with a bit of body from pureed tomato and fragrant with lime and cilantro. It’s a bit on the acidic side, which makes a great contrast to all the creamy beans. This salad might not be typical fall fare, but it is delicious and a lighter alternative to some of the yummier, but heavier dishes we crave this late in the year.

Two Bean Taco Salad with Tomato Lime Dressing

Adapted from Cooking Light, July 2000

Leave off the cheese and choose your tortilla chips appropriately, and this salad is vegan.

For the dressing:

¼ cup chopped tomato

¼ cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

1 tablespoon lime juice

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 garlic clove, peeled

For the salad:

8 cups chopped lettuce

1 ½ cups cooked black beans (drained and rinsed if canned)

1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (drained and rinsed if canned)

1 cup chopped tomato

1 cup chopped bell pepper

1 cup finely diced onion

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Tortilla chips to serve

1. To prepare the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender. Process until very smooth.

2. To prepare the salad, place the lettuce in a large bowl. Layer the remaining salad ingredients, except the cheese and tortilla chips, on top of the lettuce. Pour the dressing over the salad. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the salad. Serve with tortilla chips.

Makes 4-5 main-dish salads.

Another recipe like this one: Bean Salad with Mole Vinaigrette

One year ago: Corn and Green Onion Tart with Bacon

Quick Barbecue Beans

I’ve collected many, many recipes for baked beans, even though I have a perfectly good one (my mom’s; I’ll have to share it here some time) to which any others would have to measure up. Lately, however, I’ve been looking for something a little quicker that might still have some of the feel of a pot of tangy-sweet slow-cooked goodness. I also wanted to eat barbecue sauce.

And so I decided to try a quick and cheating method of flavoring up some cooked beans in a skillet. I didn’t want to just drown them in barbecue sauce, and I wanted to put together something a little more versatile that might be varied in flavor depending on what I had on hand. I ended up trying a combination of simple and accessible ingredients – onion and garlic, ketchup and mustard, cider vinegar and brown sugar – as a flavor base, a combination that I thought might competently host lots of different barbecue-style sauces, from sweet to spicy, smoky to fruity. I ended up being very happy!

While I prefer the firm texture of home-cooked dried beans, you could make this even quicker by starting with canned beans. For my kitchen, I like to keep lots of cooked beans on hand in the refrigerator or freezer anyway, so I’m already prepared to take the extra time to cook them. Most recently when I made this dish, I used white navy beans, which are easy to come by, but the first few times I played around, I used brown tepary beans (which I bought from here and highly recommend). Any small bean that holds its shape well when cooked is suitable for this recipe.

I’ve used a basic “sweet and spicy” variety of a reasonably priced, well-known brand of barbecue sauce, as well as some fancier specialty sauces and all were delicious. I’m thinking of trying this Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce as well. Since the beans are fairly neutral in flavor and the base of the sauce is pretty basic, I think any barbecue sauce would be suitable. Use your favorite and, like me, you might just get a little bit excited about finding another excuse to eat barbecue sauce! 

Barbecue Beans

You could use any small, firm bean in this recipe. I prefer to cook dried beans, rather than using canned beans, but either would probably be fine.

Use your favorite barbecue sauce.

1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

1 medium garlic clove, finely minced

3 cups cooked and drained white navy beans (about 2 16-ounce cans)

½ teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup yellow prepared mustard

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup barbecue sauce

1. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and just beginning to brown. This should take 5-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook about 30 seconds more.

2. Add the beans, salt, ketchup, mustard, cider vinegar and brown sugar, stirring well to coat the beans. Bring to a simmer, reduced the heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes, or until much of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture becomes very thick.

3. Stir in the barbecue sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes more, or until thick and just beginning to get a little sticky. Taste the beans for seasoning, especially salt, and adjust as desired.

Makes about 4 side-dish servings.

Other recipes like this one: White Beans with Sage and Garlic, Stewed Beans with Bacon and Caramelized Onions, White Beans with Sundried Tomatoes and Olives, White Bean Stew with Tomatoes and Rosemary

One year ago: Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Bean Salad with Mole Vinaigrette

It was a good nine months ago that I got my hands on a bottle of a very interesting dark chocolate flavored aged balsamic vinegar. I know, right! Such a thing really exists. And it tastes amazing! In fact, it might have been a bit too precious of a purchase for me, because I was kind of afraid to use it.

Of course, a simple vinaigrette would have been a worthy place to use that vinegar, or I could have been deliciously happy to drench some good bread in it. I had an idea, though; an idea I got immediately upon tasting it. Wouldn’t a chocolate flavored dark vinegar be a good base for a salad dressing reminiscent of mole sauce? And wouldn’t that mole vinaigrette be delicious on a bean salad? And wouldn’t that bean salad be more interesting if there were three different kinds of beans in it?

The short answer to all three of those questions is, “Yes!” I cooked dried beans, pinto, black turtle and huge Christmas lima beans. You, of course, could use whatever beans you like, but I really like this combination. You might have to search for Christmas limas if you have your heart set on them, but another large bean (or frankly whatever you want) will do. If you are interested in exploring some new and delicious beans, however, this place is an excellent source (I got both my Christmas limas and black turtle beans there.)

 

Now, I didn’t make a dressing that was anywhere near as complex as a true mole sauce, but I think I came up with something representative of those dark, rich flavors. I combined that chocolate-flavored vinegar with olive oil, chili powder, garlic, shallots and smoked paprika, and I loved it! I admit that a similarly flavored vinegar might be difficult to find (I got mine at a specialty shop), but I’m wondering if a small sprinkling of cocoa powder added to a good balsamic vinegar might replicate this wonderful flavor, at least for use in a salad like this one.

I hope to try that cocoa powder idea when I run out of the chocolate-flavored vinegar, because I love the complex Southwestern flavors of this hearty salad. It’s a good side dish salad, but is also a light meal on its own with plenty of flavor to dominate as a main dish (I served it with quesadillas). I can’t wait to make it again! I also hope to find some other delicious applications for that vinegar. Oooh! How about a reduction over strawberries? Now that I got bold enough to open that bottle, this could be a really happy summer.

Bean Salad with Mole Vinaigrette

You can replace the dark chocolate balsamic vinegar with plain balsamic vinegar. You might also try adding a small amount of cocoa powder to plain balsamic vinegar.

1 ½ cup cooked pinto beans (about 1 16-ounce can), drained and rinsed

1 ½ cup cooked black beans (about 1 16-ounce can), drained and rinsed

1 cup cooked Christmas lima beans, or other large beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup chopped green onion

½ cup finely chopped cilantro

1 medium garlic clove, chopped

½ teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons dark chocolate balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons finely minced shallot

Quartered cherry tomatoes and cilantro sprigs for garnish

1. Combine the pinto beans, black beans, Christmas lima beans, green onions and cilantro in a medium-size bowl. Set aside.

2. Place the chopped garlic on a cutting board. Sprinkle with the salt and create a paste as described in this post. Scrape up all the garlic-salt paste and place it in a small bowl.

3. To make the dressing, add the olive oil, dark chocolate balsamic vinegar, chili powder, and smoked paprika to the garlic-salt paste and whisk until smooth. Stir in the shallot.

4. Pour the dressing mixture over the bean mixture and stir to coat. Top with the cherry tomatoes and cilantro sprigs to serve.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Another recipe like this one: Corn and Black Bean Salad with Peppers and Cherry Tomatoes

One year ago: Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Shells