PINTO BEAN SALAD

COOKING THE BEANS

1½ lb. dry pinto beans

7 cups water

Rinse the beans well, then, in a pot cover the beans with water until the following day.

Next day drain the water.  Fill up the beans with 7 cups of fresh water, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it cook until soft. Around 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add 1½ teaspoons salt, mix and let it cool off.

If you don’t use all the beans right away, keep it in the refrigerator with the liquid.

You can separate some of the beans for salad, soups, stew, braised beans with vegetables or dips. You can freeze beans and use it for another day.

PINTO BEAN SALAD

4 cups cooked beans

1 small onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

½ red pepper, diced

½ yellow pepper, diced

1 celery rib, diced

2 scallions thinly sliced

1 tbsp. chopped cilantro

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. ground pepper

METHOD

Cook the diced carrots in a pot with boiling water until soft. Cool it in cold running water.

Same pot with boiling water, pour in for 8 seconds the red pepper, yellow pepper and celery. Cool it off with cold running water. This way the vegetables will have beautiful colors. Mix the vegetables with the beans, onions, scallions, cilantro, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Place it in the refrigerator if not used immediately.