With the seasons changing and different fruits and vegetables coming into season, the choices for creating different salads becomes exciting! The fun is creating your own different varieties in your own kitchen. Having a salad on a warm summer night always makes me happy, so finding a salad with different textures and flavors makes my day.

This salad comes from a woman from Texas who often made it for the neighborhood potluck dinners in the 1970’s. The gorgeous colors and different scents in this recipe will make your eyes widen and mouth water! I’d love to hear what you think of it and I’m always looking for fresh ideas on creating new favorites, so if you have your own special salads, let me know.

Here’s the list of ingredients to make the salad and, by the way, if you’ve never fried with peanut oil before– you’re going to love it!

For the vinaigrette
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as needed

For the salad
1/2 cup peanut oil, for frying
Six 6-inch corn tortillas
12 cups lightly packed, torn romaine lettuce leaves
3 cups homemade or no-salt-added canned black beans, rinsed and drained
6 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal (white and green parts)
12 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
12 large pieces 12-Hour Tomatoes (see related recipe), drained and chopped (may substitute 18 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes)

They even give you the ingredients to make your own vinaigrette that completes the salad and gives it a delightful fresh taste. You can also buy it at the store if you want, either way will do. Thanks to Joe Yonan for the recipe in Yonan’s Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One, (Ten Speed Press, 2011). For the full instructions, head over to The Washington Post now. Enjoy!