Summer Salad

Desert Tepary Bean & Verdolagas Salad

Our arid desert offers up a cornucopia of nutritionally dense plants—beans, fruits, vegetables, and nuts—to turn into palate-pleasing recipes. Tender young prickly pear cactus paddles (nopalitos) are picked in the spring. After summer rains, purslane (verdolagas) appear. Either adds a deliciously interesting flavor and crunch to desert tepary bean salad. These dietary staples of indigenous peoples of the southwest are still free for the picking in many backyards, while select vendors at farmers’ markets sell the beans and vegetables, and CSAs often include nopalitos in spring and verdolagas in summer shares. Serve with meat or poultry or serve as a main dish by mixing in ancient grains.

INGREDIENTS: ¼ cup finely chopped red onion 2 garlic cloves, run through garlic press or minced Zest from one Key lime or other lime 2 tablespoons Key lime or other lime juice 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon, crushed to release flavor 2 tablespoons fresh thyme or lemon thyme leaves 1–3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1½–2 cups cooked and rinsed tepary beans, cooled (not available canned) or sub black or pinto beans 1–1½ cups chiffonade-cut basil or lemon basil or cilantro (whatever is in season) 1–2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes 2 cups purslane petals with a few chopped stems 1 roasted and peeled or fresh red bell pepper, chopped 1 roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped poblano chile Optional: add 1 cup of cooked ancient grains—einkorn berries, or Arizona’s Hayden Mills’ white Sonora wheat or faro (emmer) berries that have been tossed in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon of smoked sea salt Freshly ground pepper ¼–½ cup feta goat cheese, crumbled 1 Haas avocado, chopped 2 tablespoons pine nuts

COMBINE INGREDIENTS: Mix together onions, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, oregano, thyme, and 2 tablespoons of oil. Soak for 5 minutes to tame a strong onion flavor. Then toss mixture with all other ingredients (add optional ancient grains) except for goat cheese, avocado, and pine nuts. Taste and add additional oil as needed. Sprinkle with cheese, avocado, and pine nuts. Splash a little lime juice over avocado and serve at room temperature.

Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Savvy Southwest Cooking Janet Taylor, author of The Healthy Southwest Table and Savvy Southwest Cooking, teaches healthy cooking classes to young children in Tucson, and is an Heirloom Farmers’ Market board member.