Zesty Corn & Bean Salad
Okay, maybe I'm a wee bit obsessed with beans but c'mon, they are delicious, affordable and abundant in nourishing properties. The last time I shared a concoction using black beans was in my Enchiladas recipe here. This time, I'm shaking up the concept of a salad by introducing you to this Zesty Corn and Bean salad. Apart from being beautiful to look at, this salad is über hearty and can stand alone as a larger entrée or even be presented in a scaled down version to be a side dish.
Zesty Corn & Bean Salad
PREP TIME: 15 mins
TOTAL TIME: 15 mins
Serves: 4-5
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 clove garlic, minced
Pinch of salt and ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cayenne (or more for extra heat)
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ cups frozen or canned corn kernels
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1 red bell pepper. Chopped
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4cup red onions, finely diced
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
Place lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Mix well.
In a larger salad bowl, combine beans, corn, avocado, bell pepper, tomatoes, onions and cilantro.
Shake lime dressing and pour over the salad. Stir salad to coat and serve.
NOTES:
You can tweak the ratio of ingredients to satisfy your taste buds. I've tried and retried this recipe many times and I feel like I've finally nailed it.
One note of caution--once, I was in a time crunch and used canned diced tomatoes. Na uh, now that was an epic fail. Try to go out of your way to purchase firm Roma tomatoes. It's all in the details people, all in the details.
Another tid bit, if you're not a fan of how strong a red onion can be, switch it out for something a little less "potent" like green onion. Cooking should always allow for flexibility and this recipe certainly does.
