Tuesday 21 November 2017

Multi-Bean Salad - With A Mexican Twist

Yep, I'm keen on beans, and I like to add a bit of Mexican flavour to them.  Here we have a useful little side or main meal if you add a protein such as chicken to them.  This recipe is from Dinner with Georgia O'Keeffe, a book about (obviously) the meals that she made in her Santa Fe, New Mexico kitchen.  The version in the book is pretty much just seasoned and dressed beans, so I decided to ramp up the flavours a bit.
    


Georgia (image Wikimedia Commons public domain
photo taken by her husband A. Stieglitz


This collection of recipes was put together by Robyn Lea, an Australian writer who visited New Mexico to research this book at the Georgia O'Keeffe Research Center.  She sorted through fifty of her recipe and garden books, and a boxful of handwritten recipes and clippings to find her most loved dishes.  Georgia was a keen vegetable grower, and a huge fan of local produce.  Her life was a mix of growing, cooking, art and nature, but mostly art.  (Check out her works online; there are plenty of websites that show her art.)




Georgia O'Keeffe Research Center (image Wikimedia. author:Devilstocksoup) 



Slightly adapted by Sherry:


Serves 8-10:

ingredients:


1/2 small red onion, finely sliced

juice of 1 lime

1/2 green or red jalapeño, finely sliced

4 x 400g. cans of beans: I used black beans, chick peas, organic cannellini and red kidney beans but use your faves

1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped

a handful of pepitas - about 30g. (1 oz.)

1 avocado, diced

a big handful of fresh coriander, chopped or torn

a big handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped or torn

1/4 cup olive oil - I used lime-pressed olive oil

2 tsp apple cider vinegar or vinegar of your choice - I used verjus

sea salt and black pepper to taste



Method:


Place the sliced onion in a small bowl and let it marinate in the lime juice for at least 30 mins. to an hour

Rinse and drain your beans very well (I like 'em cold so I put the cans in the fridge for a while)

Then grab a big salad bowl, put in all the ingredients and stir gently

Add some poached chicken breast if you want to make it a hearty main meal




ingredients gathered



marinate the onion in lime juice



let it sit for an hour




ready to toss



pour in the oil and season well



almost ready to eat



add some poached chicken breast if you fancy 



This is a very tasty and very filling meal.  And mmm you may find it a bit windy too:=)  But delicious nonetheless, and worth the wind.  Unlike Pythagoras who it is said had an aversion to beans - "they be windy...and provoke bodily lust" - I'm very happy to eat beans and risk the impure humours - and the lust!




my beany doodle

14 comments:

  1. I love beans and the look of this recipe for summer and for feeding a crowd. Robyn Lea sounds like a very interesting person and I will follow her up. I enjoy learning about the background and stories attached to recipes. Thanks for sharing this recipe Sherry. Pauline

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    Replies
    1. hi pauline
      thanks for dropping by. Yes i love the history of recipes too. so fascinating! cheers S

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  2. Yup! I would opt for the vegan option! LOVE beans!!! And Avocado!? Don't get me started! hahahahaha!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jennifer
      Yes a great combo aren’t they? You feel healthy when you eat this one:). Cheers S

      Delete
  3. Wonderful backstory and recipe, I was looking for something to serve for dinner tonight and you gave me an idea. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Liz
      Yep I feel healthier just reading this recipe :). Cheers S

      Delete
  4. Hi Sherry, that does sound fab. We are always looking for ways to increase the amount of legumes we eat. I have two avocados ripening on the bench. When they are ready I will give this a burl.

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    Replies
    1. hi glenda
      legumes are so healthy aren't they? and you feel so virtuous eating them. even if they're windy little devils. or we are:)

      Delete
  5. That sounds like a delicious recipe that would go so well with meats or just by itself. I didn't know that about Georgia O'Keeffe-she was ahead of her time!

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  6. She was an amazing woman and so talented. And yes ahead of her time.

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  7. Hy Sherry, the comination of ingredients like beans and avacado will make us healthy. Thanks for shairng this salad

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    Replies
    1. thanks andreya
      it is a healthy dish and very tasty too.

      Delete
  8. Ooohhh Georgia sounds right up my alley with her love of gardening as well!

    ReplyDelete

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