Tortilla Salad Recipe
A tortilla salad made from all sorts of good stuff - heirloom beans, avocado, watermelon radish, and cauliflower. Electric colors, punchy dressing, fresh and filling.
Hi all - I'm having this recipe jump the line because I'm that eager to share it with you. I made it just before leaving for this place, which means I'm now scrambling to get it onto the server when I really should be packing. What's all the fuss? This was one of those times when a simple lunch idea blossomed into something unexpected and wonderful - electric colors, punchy dressing, everything super fresh and filling. The idea here was to build a salad around some beautiful dried cranberry beans I found at the market. They ranged in color - some were a deep pink, others rosy brown, many took after their namesake with deep cranberry red skins. Some were bean-shaped, others more like Niçoise olives - full and round, yet small. I knew I wanted to play off the pink. But beyond that, I just kept reaching for things I needed to use up. Blue corn chips, some leftover dressing, a ripe avocado on the counter - the loose notion of a tortilla salad starts to take shape. The details...
Let's start with the dressing. For those of you who missed this post, I should note that the dressing du jour around here is that paprika-spiked stunner. Assertive, rustic, herb-kissed - it is perfect with beans. Done. I had a watermelon radish on hand - fuchsia fleshed and spicy, it was another welcome addition. Thin slices of the avocado brought a bit of luxe creaminess, and sunflower seeds and tortilla chips delivered crunch and structure. I actually hesitated before adding the chips. The salad was certainly fine without them, but there was something about the chips that really worked. I mean, they're tortilla chips. Why not? I threw in a bit of barely cooked cauliflower (chopped leaves, stems, all of it), and feta. I think it goes without saying - you can experiment and swap in other seasonal vegetables, types of cheese (goat might be nice), etc.
I made a little treat for my flight & hope to share that recipe and some pics when I get back. -h
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Tortilla Salad Recipe
HS: While I used heirloom cranberry beans here, you can substitute another sort of bean if you like. It's better if you've cooked them from scratch. And do your best to avoid overcooking them.
3 cups / ~1 lb / 16 oz cooked beans, room temperature or warm
1/3 cup / 1.5 ounces / 45 g toasted sunflower seeds (or pepitas)
1/4 cup / 60ml this dressing (or other favorite vinaigrette), or to taste2 cups / big handfuls of chopped cauliflower (stems, leaves, florets), boiled in a bit of salted water for just 20 seconds, then drained under cold water
2-3 big handfuls of tortilla chips
1/4 cup / 1.5 oz / 45 g crumbled feta
1 small (watermelon) radish, sliced paper thin
1/2 avocado, sliced
Combine the beans, sunflower seeds, most of the dressing, and cauliflower in a large bowl. Toss well. Add the chips, feta, and radish. Toss gently. Taste, add more dressing if needed, and the avocado. Toss once or twice and enjoy.
Serves 4.
Prep time: 5 minutes
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Comments
you make veggies look delicious! am still new to this vegetarian lifestyle and am slowly adapting to it...your recipes certainly help!
Hey , What a great great looking salad, it looks like a proper gentleman in salads all well dressed and proper... Are the cauliflowers red? never seen such before they look gorgeous and the colour combination of the whole salad is so balanced I just cannot find words keep up the good work , I have you on my side bar bye HS: Hi Mahek - it's a purple cauliflower :)
Thanks for relinking Magic Sauce...forgot about that one and it should not be forgotten. The watermelon radish...is probably the most beautiful radish I have ever seen. And a recipe jumping the line...oh, that's big :)
It's beautiful !!!!!!! big kiss
Your recipe has totally inspired me to head out to the Ferry Building and pick up some seasonal good at the Farmers Market! Never used watermelon radish in any of my recipes, so this one seems like a good one as any! Cheers!
Heidi I have this image of you in my head. You're standing in the kitchen with a giant artist's palette on your thumb - but instead of daubs of paint, it's groaning under the weight of a kaleidoscope of fresh produce. You literally paint food onto the plate! It's so inspiring to read your blog and flick through your recipe books. All this image lacked was smellavision! Thanks. Lisa x
I'm such a blue tortilla chip fan. I always feel a little guilty indulging, but in a salad, it's guilt-free! Have you ever baked with blue cornmeal? I brought a bag back from Texas last time I was home, and it's sitting in my freezer, waiting for inspiration. Thought I'd check with you ;)
i often love crumbling chips into my salads - esp. the ones that got mangled in a bag
This looks delicious; so light and flavorful. And the color medley is absolutely gorgeous.
The colours in this are spectacular!! I'm starting to experiment more with salads, mainly ingredients, but never thought about colour matching. Something new to think about...
The salad looks delicious and has a lovely color!
Those colours are AMAZING Heidi! What an array of gorgeous produce you must have in SF. Yum, looks like my kinda lunch.
Oh wow this sounds delicious! I love the colours :)
Beautiful clicks !! Indian Cuisine
Beautiful lunch! Many of my favorite ingredients except I have never seen or had a watermelon radish. This salad actually makes me feel good just looking at it!
Sounds fabulous. And perfect timing--I am just about to place an order for some heirloom beans at Rancho Gordo and now I'll add cranberry beans. Beautiful too!
My goodness that looks delicious! Cranberry beans and watermelon radish? Even the ingredient list is divine!
This salad looks fantastic! Purple cauliflower caught my eye at the farmers market last week, and I'll have to pick some up tomorrow and make your recipe. I love the colors and textures you've got going on here. Thanks for sharing, and have a safe trip!
That watermelon radish is so pretty--I've never seen such a thing!
Oh wow, your dishes always have the most stunning color palates. So inspiring. It looks so soft and almost fading-- probably fitting for the transition into fall now. :) Enjoy your trip!
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