LOT 7: Mexican Bean Orzo Salad

Pam of Project Foodie is hosting this month's Leftover Tuesdays event. The theme this month is "Pantry Raid", challenging participants to dig deep into their pantry to creatively use as many leftovers as possible, while still tasting good of course! Clearly this was an event that called for a serendipitous use of what was on hand, no planning allowed. I resisted my food planning tendencies and did my best to comply. This was a good week in our home for this event. We're just at home for a few days between long weekends on Cape Cod, so I didn't want to buy much on a quick trip to the grocery store the other day. But I did need to scrape together two more nights of eating, and 5 ozs. of baby spinach was the only item left from my shopping trip. I looked in the fridge, saw an onion and green pepper languishing next to the spinach. Plenty of beans in the cupboard, along with some orzo. Inspiration gradually set in, and here's the result:

Ingredients*
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen sliced summer squash and zucchini mix

2 tbsp frozen corn
1 cup already opened roasted garlic spaghetti sauce
1 lonely veggie burger from the bottom of the freezer
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1 tsp each of ground coriander & cumin
1 pinch each of cayenne & cinamon
5 ozs baby spinach
1.5 cups orzo
optional toppings: grated cheese, or if you have leftover spinach/cottage cheese mix from earlier in the week, a bit of that

*These quantities are by no means optimal. They are simply what was leftover.

Directions: Begin boiling water for the orzo. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, stir and saute for a couple minutes. Proceed to add the remaining ingredients in similar fashion (except for orzo), allowing the new ingredient to cook for a minute or two before adding the next one. Put the orzo on to cook after adding the black beans. Cover the bean sauce pan at this point to allow the flavors to meld and the spinach to wilt upon adding. When the orzo is al dente, drain, and combine with the sauce. Serve with optional toppings.

Wine Pairing: I served this with the 2004 Jewel Viogner, leftover of course. A passable wine for under $10, and worked with this dish well enough. Viogner has a vibrant taste that works well with dishes with spices such as cumin and coriander.