By Lakshmi:

Today’s grocery trip to Trader Joe’s led to an unexpected discovery.  Black bean pasta made only with black bean flour! As soon as I got home, you can guess what I did….I went to the fridge and peeked in to see what could be made ASAP with this black bean pasta.  Out came the ingredients and a beautiful, yummy, Mexican inspired black bean pasta salad emerged. We think it looks beautiful and tastes yummy!  Would love to hear your thoughts.  Here’s how it all came together.

First, the ingredients:

I gathered what’s featured in the picture below along with two limes, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

The prep:

Follow the instructions on the packet and cook the pasta till done (al dente).  Cook the yam in the microwave for four minutes (till firm but done).  Chop the cooked yam into small pieces and do the same with the rest of the vegetables as shown below:

The assembly:

Put the cooked pasta in a bowl and toss with olive oil so the pasta does not appear to stick. Now add all the chopped vegetables, squeeze the juice from two limes and add a liberal dose of freshly ground salt and pepper!  Divide into four servings and enjoy!