I am a huge fan of beans. With the wide variety of legumes and the infinite ways to cook them, the recipes ideas are endless. They each have a different flavor, texture and purpose. I love when they play together, and I love when they play with others. In this episode of "How the Bean Turns", the chick pea and the potato meet in a warm vs. cold encounter.

As you will often hear me say... "I made this dish many years ago because these were items I had at the time." Since starting this blog I have been rummaging through notebooks to see what cryptic notes of recipes past I may have left. I came upon a scrap of paper with a simple description of this salad with no quantity specifics. Which means this was early on when I realized I needed to start writing my ideas down but didn't think the amounts were important. (And I still don't, but I do realize that, like for my sister, Jill, amounts are essential.)

A funny thing about my recipe ideas is that since I made them up on the fly, some of them never got repeated. Mainly because I don't specifically go out and buy those items in order to make it again. Add to that no notes, tons of other ideas and I have a memory like a sieve. I see food items that interest me and just come up with something else. However, this blog has given me a wonderful platform to revive recipes that I thankfully wrote down in some fashion or another. I have to give total credit to JuanCarlos, who years ago bought me a notebook and said, "Start writing them down." Hail King JuanCarlos for his brilliant foresight.

So here goes another warm & cold salad for all occasions. Which is ideal for this time of year when the nights have a little chill but the days are warm.

Ingredients

1 29 oz. can Garbanzo/Chick Peas
3 c potatoes, cut in 1" pieces
1/2 yellow pepper, cut into mince like pieces
2 scallion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c shallot, minced
1/3 c red onion, diced
2 c grape tomatoes, cut in half (if you can find the red, yellow or orange versions buy different colors. It adds to the overall festive feel of the salad. No worries if you can't, just use all red.)
4-5 stalks Hearts of Palm, optional

Dressing

2 T fresh lime juice
1/4 c sherry vinegar
2/3 c Olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 c each Basil, mint, chopped
Whisk together in the order listed above.

Instructions

Boil the potatoes until they are slightly undercooked. Then remove, drain and set aside. Using the same pot, sauté the shallots, red onion and the white parts of the scallion until soft. Then add the potatoes and yellow pepper cooking until all are nicely caramelized. Add the garlic and 1 c of grape tomatoes and cook until warm.

Meanwhile, in the serving bowl, add the chick peas, the green parts of scallion and the remaining 1 c uncooked grape tomatoes (and Hearts of Palm if you so choose). Toss with the half of the dressing, then mix in the warm potato mixture and stir in the remainder of the dressing. Serve immediately.

If you recall from an earlier post entitled Salad: Hot & Cold, I am an advocate of mixing temperatures in salads. Although this one is more warm and room temp, it does give a nod to that thought. This salad is great for a big party, a Sunday brunch plate, a Saturday afternoon lunch, or now as the weather turns warmer, for a BBQ. It's a good hearty dish that really plays well with so many main courses. I made this for a dinner party for a family of friends, three of which were young teenagers. I got thumbs up from all, which put a smile on their faces and mine. Warm up your smile, with another salad saga of Hot & Cold.

Post Note: I recently made this again when our nephew, John, came by for dinner. Here's how it played nicely with all our other offerings.