Colorful, light, and full of flavor this is the perfect way to impress guests or to bring to a summer potluck.
Black bean salad is an incredibly versatile dish that begs to be fooled with. Add diced chicken, pork, or shrimp for a complete meal. Slip in some diced mango or pineapple. This is a mild recipe, but you can add more jalapeños or habeñero peppers for a much spicier dish.
Black beans are a common ingredient in food all across Latin America. Actually called the black turtle bean to avoid confusion with black beans in other parts of the world–the South East Asian black bean used in fermented black bean puree is quite different– this humble little legume packs a lot of flavor.
The health benefits of this little bean are many. Packed with dietary fiber, this is a food recommended for folks with high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart attack risks. The heart health benefits of black beans come not only from the high amount of fiber, but also the high levels of folate and magnesium.
It is also a good source of the enzyme sulfite oxydase and can be helpful to folks who are sensitive to sulfites which are found in many prepared foods.
For those of you watching your antioxidant intake, black beans rank as high as grapes and cranberries as sources of antioxidants. Research has found that the darker a bean’s seed coat, the higher the amount of antioxidants.
While this makes for a great side dish, it can also be a salsa for chips or spooned on a grilled piece of fish.
Add your comments about successful changes you make as you experiment with this dish.
Black Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dried black beans, cooked, rinsed, and drained (or 16 oz. can will work as well)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh corn kernels (or two 15 ounce cans whole kernel corn, drained)
- 8 green onions, chopped (substitute shallots or use a combination of the two)
- 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (or one pickled jalapeño, minced)
- 1 green or red bell pepper, minced
- 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and minced
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
- 1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure
- In a large bowl cilantro, basil, lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
- Add black beans, corn, green onions, jalapeños
Garnish with slices of avocado and chili powder.
