Kidney bean salad with toasted cumin seeds

You already know that I love my legumes. I think chick peas may be my favorite (check out my grilled zucchini chick pea salad), but there’s always room for black beans, cannellinis, black-eyed peas and the good ol’ kidney bean. Cate’s fond of the beans too, and I agree with her that they are a mainstay of protein in a vegetarian diet, along with nuts, seeds, eggs, cheese and yogurt.

I based my recipe very loosely on this — ahem — lackluster kidney bean salad with walnuts and cilantro, although mine’s got more pizazz, with the added avocado, feta and pepper. They were right about one thing, though — toasting the cumin seeds is not a wasted step. The flavor released through this one simple technique is so divine.

Kidney Bean Salad with Toasted Cumin Seeds

Ingredients:

15-ounce can red kidney beans
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 avocado, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup feta crumbles
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the cumin seeds in an un-oiled pan until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Whisk together the oil and vinegar, and then toss everything together to coat.

Yes, it can be a main dish, served over greens, but consider blackened tilapia as an accompaniment.