International Relations

On the way to make black bean salad at my friend Pam's the other night, I asked if she had any chiles. Nope. And I had forgotten to bring some. So, since the black bean salad we'd had in mind was of the cilantro-jalapeno variety, the question became how to get the heat the chile would normally provide into the salad. I decided to use a healthy pinch of paprika (same family) and some extra black pepper (extended family). And we'd already decided to have soy chorizo with the salad, so that would add some firepower.

Tasting long beans at the Civic Center farmers' market last week, I thought their great, slightly chewy texture would make them a good substitute for corn in a black bean salad. So I brought those along to see. (Pam had corn in the house, so we used that, too.) Also in the bag: purslane, a lemon, a lime, an orange, a red bell pepper, a couple of scallions and a torpedo onion. Oh, and a can of Whole Foods' organic black beans.

Lucky me: Pam turned out to be the Herb and Spice Queen, with an impressive array of dried varieties on hand--a real break since neither of us had fresh cilantro.

She made a strawberry smoothie, which fueled us while she whipped up some yummy mashed potatoes and I got to work on the salad. Here's what greeted us at the finish line.

Long Black Bean Salad:

For the salad:

1/2 can black beans
1 ear of corn or equivalent amount cooked corn
1/2 bunch long beans
1/2 red bell pepper
3-4 stalks (with leaves) purslane
1 scallion, minced, including the greens
1 small clove garlic

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon lemon juice and lime juice, combined*
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Zest of 1/2 lime
Smidgen Dijon mustard
Healthy pinch dried cilantro
Healthy pinch crushed dried coriander
Healthy pinch paprika
Freshly-ground black pepper
Pinch of salt

Drain beans. (You could reserve the liquid for soup.) If you're starting with fresh corn, shuck, rinse, and cook, then shave kernels off the cob. Steam long beans, then chop into one-inch pieces. Chop purslane and dice red pepper. Mince onion and garlic. Whisk oil, lemon and lime juice, mustard, zests, herbs, and spices together. Add black beans and toss. Add remaining ingredients, toss again, and taste. (I added another squeeze of lime here.)

Pam had mentioned having spinach on hand. So we decided two salads were better than one.

Spinach Meets Orange:

For the salad:

1/2 package baby spinach
1 small head radicchio di Treviso
A few leaves of ancho cress
1/2 orange
1/2 torpedo onion or small amount other red onion

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh orange juice
Healthy pinch orange zest
Smidgen Dijon mustard
Healthy pinch dried mint
Healthy pinch dried basil
Freshly-ground black pepper
Pinch of salt

Rinse, dry, and loosely tear greens. Slice half-orange; remove white pith and seeds; separate into segments. Whisk together oil, vinegar, orange juice, mustard, herbs, and spices. Add spinach and other greens with onion, toss; then add orange segments, toss again, and serve.

Remembering that long black bean salad later, I decided to recreate it. But this time I had a serrano chile along for the ride. I've been roasting them over a gas flame lately. So I did that. And the cilantro? Out of stock. And no dried cilantro flakes, either. So into the mortar and pestle went dried whole coriander, accompanied by some cumin seeds. I used stone-ground mustard this time around for an earthier feeling, and lemon since I was out of limes.

One more thing: Don't use Progresso black beans. Or, at least, not here: When I opened the can I found the wrong baby in the crib. Were they black beans? Some other variety, I suppose. Certainly not what I usually think of, which I suppose is Mexican black beans. But I made the salad anyway, and it tasted just fine. I had a corn tortilla and a bit of yogurt on the side--and a solution to Lamb Tagine au Pere de Venice. Stay tuned.

*Why lemon and lime juice combined? Because I just had one lime on hand.

©2010 Laynie Tzena.