A Winelover's Wanderings

TourMama (Judy) picked the salad for our second week. Here is what she said:

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I decided for May 3rd to share a great recipe for a Latin flavored Black Bean Salad. Given to me by a former co-worker who is also a caterer, the instructions begin "It's not a recipe fixed in stone...", so quantities and ingredients are flexible.

This was a very tasty salad, substantial enough for a salad dinner but versatile enough to be a side dish at a BBQ. And you can be really creative with it.

Definitely a keeper - thanks Judy!

Black Bean Salad for Cinco de Mayo

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 hrs) 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.

While beans are cooking, also cook:
1 – ½ to 2 cups long grain rice, brown rice, or an "8 grain" mixture of rice/grain that you can get from some stores, following package directions..

Cool beans and grain.

Dice some combination of the following:-- try to dice all vegetables uniformly to a size similar to the size of the black beans for best appearance:

Red onions (maybe 1 whole one)
Garlic, minced or crushed (up to 12 cloves more or less)
Bell peppers. I like to use 3 colors to brighten up the salad.
Jalapeno - 2 or 3 depending on heat you like, minced
Corn, canned, frozen or fresh as you like maybe a cup or so (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 & pepper
1 teaspoon or so of mustard
Garlic (maybe 6 or so cloves)
Cumin and/or chili powder (1-2 teaspoons to taste)

Adjust these ingredients as needed to balance the flavors.
Optional: stir in fresh chopped cilantro.

Garnish with cilantro.

Here's all of the salad ingredients:

And my chopped veggies:

Such a colorful salad - we loved it!