Rita Heikenfeld
Dressing:
2/3 c. red wine vinegar
1 1/3 c. Olive oil *Add last may not need all
1 T. plus 2 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. chili powder (or more to taste)
1 T. plus 1 tsp. minced garlic \
1 T. plus 1 tsp. dried oregano (rub in your diced hands to release oils)
Salad:
4 cans of beans, rinsed well and drained : garbanzo,black, red and light kidney
1 large yellow or orange bell pepper
1 bunch of green onions, (snipped with scissors or chopped green you wish)
5-6 plum tomatoes (or 1 can diced add last, you may not need all of tomatoes, not drained, in the winter)
1 handful of chopped cilantro, to taste taste (or more to 1 handful of chopped flat leaf parsley, to
taste)
4 ribs of celery, diced
sea salt and pepper to taste
1 bag fresh baby spinach (or any salad)
1/2 c. cracked or bulgur wheat, reconstituted*. (Do it!)
* To reconstitute cracked wheat: Take 1/2 cup of wheat and rinse it under cool water
3 times. Place in a bowl and leave 1/4 in on top. Drain when wheat is soft. You can do
a day ahead, but I find by the time I have done everything else for this recipe, it's
done.
Mix first 7 ingredients, going easy on the oil. Set aside.
Mix the bean and veggies, but not the spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste, then the drained wheat. Mix in the salad dressing (You may not want to add it all. I do.) with the veggies/beans.
Serve over spinach. Placing spinach in the dish quickly wilts it, so it's best kept fresh
and separate. This keeps well as the vinegar lets it last longer. (The notes below are
mine, not Rita's)
You can also add chicken or stuff in a pita. Great recipe.
Note: Don't let this small step of cracked wheat stop you from trying this. My
neighbors and I call this the "girl dish". I don't know if it's the estrogen in the beans or
what, but we have trouble sharing this recipes with anyone else.
