Consider this my heartfelt apology to the leeks, rutabagas and beets languishing in my fridge. I'm sorry. It's not that I don't love you. I'm just so bored of Winter right now. I yearn for Summer tomatoes, bright fresh herbs, spicy chilies and a little more vibrant color than say, beige, olive drab and reddish-brown. And I'm not the only one feeling this way.
Last night we went to a birthday party for a fabulous cake maker. Our instructions were to bring something vegetarian for a potluck. Why don't all my friends throw potlucks? A potluck party is so much fun. You get to meet interesting people and their cuisine. It's a whole other component to the matching up face-name-personality game.
So faced with a fridge full of Winter vegetables I headed for the pantry where I found chipotle salsa, white beans, black beans, and yellow corn. I threw in a couple of chopped scallions, a green pepper, a pinch of cumin and a crumble of dried tomatoes. A garnish of fresh cilantro topped the whole thing off. This is an interesting dish because you can serve it as a salad or with tortilla chips as a dip. Kinda helps you forget it's pouring down rain outside.
Note: All ingredients are approximate, feel free to add more salsa, vegetables or spices. You could also make this a three bean salad or swap out the black or white beans for another variety such as chickpeas, pinto or kidney beans.
Two Bean Salad
serves a crowd
Ingredients
1 can white beans (15 ounces)
1 can black beans (15 ounces)
1 can corn (15 ounces)
2 scallions, chopped
1 fresh pepper, chopped (red or green bell pepper or jalapeno)
1 cup chunky chipotle salsa
1 Tablespoon olive oil
pinch of cumin
salt to taste
optional: cilantro, crumbled sun-dried tomatoes, chopped fresh mango, whatever else strikes your fancy!
Instructions
Drain the beans and corn, combine in a large mixing bowl. Add the fresh chopped vegetables, salsa, oil and spices. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for several hours before tasting for seasoning. Add fresh torn cilantro before serving, if desired.
Enjoy!
FOOD + BEANS
