TourMama Judy chose this recipe for week number two in honor of Cinco de Mayo, this being Tres de Mayo, "to share a great recipe for a Latin flavored Black Bean Salad. given to me by a former co-worker, the instructions begin, 'It's not a recipe fixed in stone . . ' so quantities and ingredients are flexible."
I was glad to hear that since by shopping at Trader Joe's, which had no fresh jalapenos, I chose to use a can of their chopped fire-roasted chilis. But other than adding some zucchini I found in the refrigerator, I actually did not change this recipe much at all.
But after reading the ingredient list I knew I was going to need a pretty large bowl:
Beginning, as always, with the ingredients,
Black Bean Salad
2 cups dried black beans
Cover dry beans with 2 inches of water, and allow to soak overnight, drain soaking liquid, cover with fresh water, bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook 1-2 hours until beans are tender. Do NOT salt the water - it can cause the beans to toughen. Rinse and drain beans well, to get rid of all the black/grey liquid, which can discolor the salad.
Note - if you prefer, you can substitute 4 - 16 oz cans of cooked black beans, just rinse and drain thoroughly as above. {This is the method I chose, but I have to say I was surprised when the black beans came out brown}.
While beans are cooking, also cook:
1and 1/2 to 2 cups long grain rice, or an "8 grain" mixture of rice/grain that you can get from some stores, follow package directions.
Cool beans and grains.
Dice some of combination of the following - try to dice all vegetables uniformly to a size similar to the size of the black beans for best appearance.
{There was a lot of slicing and dicing for this salad}
red onions (maybe 1 whole one)
Garlic, minced or crushed (up to 12 cloves more or less)
Bell peppers (use 3 colors to brighten the salad)
Jalapeno - 2-3 depending on heat, minced {Here is here I used the can of chopped fire chiles}
Corn, canned frozed or fresh as you like, maybe a cup or or (suggestion use the roasted corn from Trader Joe's for an extra layer of flavor).
Optional addition - green beans or zucchini
Toss all ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
Then add Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette
Olive oil (about 1/2 cup)
lime zest
lime juice (about 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon mustard
garlic (about 6 cloves), minced
cumin and/or chili powder (1-2 teaspoons to taste)
adjust these ingredients to balance the flavors
Optional: stir in fresh chopped cilantro
Garnish with cilantro
To say that this made a lot of salad is quite the undestatement. Since we were heading off to San Diego for our Gathering planning weekend, I packed up salad to bring to Shannon and Jane (I knew Palma would have a large bowl at home for Brad), gave a container to my neighbors, and still have quite a bit for my lunches for the coming week. I am going to take Jerry's suggestion and have some salad burritos.
and maybe a margarita for the real Cinco de Mayo! Salud.
Comments (3)
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Love seeing your photos. I agree that this recipe made a lot (and I even cut it in half!).
Posted by Annie | May 4, 2009 5:26 AM
Posted on May 4, 2009 05:26
Nice pictures. I cut mine in half and I still have enough for two more meals. It's a perfect salad for a picnic or potluck.
Happy Drinko de Mayo!
Posted by María I. | May 4, 2009 9:21 AM
Posted on May 4, 2009 09:21
Delicious!
Posted by candi | May 4, 2009 12:01 PM
Posted on May 4, 2009 12:01