A Piquant Spring Potpourri – Black-eyed Peas Pesto Salad

Spring brings with it a gush of greenness, and a fit of freshness, glazing everything with winks of color, infusing the air with much needed verve after those pallid wintry months. Sprouts of green herbs blithely appear, mocking at the dry cold weather stocks sitting snuggled up together in the pantry. The tastebuds dance in anticipation of fresh tastes, ready to relinquish the painstaking intake of sundried shards of standard victuals. The astringent juices of fresh basil in the pesto, for instance, seem to possess a life of their own, stealing the thunder from under the husky mien of the powdered stuff. The vibrant peppers and onions, Lycopene-laden tomatoes and buttery tubers, all seem to lure with earnest sincerity, in the hope that they can all dodder into a dish and yet hold their own. The beans and legumes vie for a starry spot in all manner of culinary experiments, latching on with the air of able-bodied activists. In the Tadka kitchens, they all file right into a big bowl for a scrumptious, psychedelic and salubrious collaboration, as an absolute allegory, if you will, for Spring itself.

Black-eyed Peas Pesto Salad

(Serves 4)

½ Cup black-eyed peas (See Note)
1 Potato, boiled and cubed
2 Mini sweet peppers or ½ a bell pepper/capsicum, chopped
½ Tomato, chopped
½ Cup chopped cucumber
2 Tablespoons chopped red onion

Dressing –

¼ Cup prepared basil pesto
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Cook the black-eyed peas until just tender. Reserve a quarter cup of the cooking liquid and drain the peas well. Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and add some of the cooking liquid to thin it out, if needed.

Put the hot beans and cubed potatoes in a salad bowl. Pour the dressing into the bowl, toss lightly and allow it to soak in while you prep the other salad ingredients. Add the chopped vegetables and mix everything together. Serve at room temperature, or cover tightly and chill. We enjoy this hearty salad as a light lunch option, spooned onto Wasa crispbread or Gujrati khakhras.

Note:

You can use a can of black-eyed peas instead of cooking up dry beans. Drain and rinse well before tossing into the salad. In this case use vegetable stock or just plain hot water to thin out the pesto for the dressing.