Spring Pinto Bean Salad

This recipe is all about texture and mouthfeel. Crunchy tortilla strips contrast with the smooth buttery beans and mild sunflower microgreens. The bright, freshly harvested green garlic, plus the citrus juice and chipotle, add a bit of sparkly heat. This isn’t really a full meal, but what a delightful way to start one. ( Pro tip: if you’ve found that microgreens can be a bit unwieldy, give them a rough chop so that the stems and leaves are the same size.)

Serves 4 as appetizers, 2 as larger sides

Prep time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup cooking oil, enough to make a thick layer on your frying pan

• 2 medium sized flour tortillas, cut into matchstick thin strips a couple inches long

• 2 cups sunflower microgreens, roughly chopped

• 1 15-oz can pinto beans, drained and slightly mashed

• 1 green garlic, minced (substitute with scallions, if needed)

• Juice from 1 lime

• Chipotle in adobo sauce, or other hot sauce

• Olive oil

• Salt
  

Place a large flat bottomed frying pan over medium heat and add the cooking oil. Once the oil starts to sizzle, add the tortilla strips so that they form a single layer (you may need to do this in batches). Sprinkle a little salt while cooking and fry until golden brown. Remove the tortilla strips with tongs and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel. 

Once cooled, make a nest of tortilla strips on each plate. Assemble the salad by placing a heap of microgreens on the tortilla strips, then the pinto beans, and then the  green garlic. Over each plate, drizzle lime juice, adobo sauce (I use the tines of a fork for a light sprinkling), a glug of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. 

It’s easy to make variations with this recipe. Mostly, it’s just an excuse to enjoy fried tortilla strips!