Sunday Salad Samplers # 2 - Black Bean Salad

Week two of our sampling of salads bring us a salad just in time for Cinco de Mayo. Of course, for those of us here in the Great North Cinco de Mayo doesn't mean much. In fact, for many of us Mexico means tequila, swine flu (a recent tie-in :-), and burritos.

Celebrated on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo is observed more in the US than in Mexico where it isn't even a National Holiday. It marks that last time that an army from another continent tried to invade a country in North America - and failed. Outside of Mexico it has come to be seen as a day to celebrate Mexican heritage. It is NOT Mexican Independence Day (September 16th).

Regardless of why or how one celebrates all things Mexican - this salad makes a brilliant addition to the menu. Judy, one of the slowtravel moderators, shared the recipe with us. She originally was given it by a caterer so you can imagine the amount of salad it makes (I cut the recipe in half). It is full of crisp, fresh veggies and comes together brilliantly with a delicious cumin-line vinaigrette. YUM I've had lots of store-bought black bean salads and can tel you that I will NOT be going back to those any more.

I followed the recipe as printed (except for cutting it in half). Judy suggested adding roasted corn that you buy at Trader Joe's. Those of us who don't have access to a Trader Joe's can just make their own! I tossed 2 cups of cooked, frozen corn with some olive oil. . . spread it on a parchment-lined baking sheet . . . roasted it at 400 degrees for 12 minutes and low and behold had my own roasted corn and it only cost 50 cents as compared to what you'd pay at TJs. Judy suggests that you make sure that all of the veggies are of a similar size/shape as the black beans . . . this meant more chopping and dicing than I normally do but I agree with her - it is worth it and makes a big difference in the appearance!

This was great Judy - thanks for sharing!

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 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.

Comments

[Cindy Ruth]

Looks yummy. Thanks for the history of Cinco de Mayo.

[Kathy (Trekcapri)]

Hi Jerry, your salad looks really delicious. I liked how you provided a bit of history on the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. It is definitely big here in California. I'm enjoying looking at all the Sunday Salad Samplers. And I'm definitely going to try some of these recipes myself. Thanks for sharing!

[Candi]

Nice post Jerry and great looking salad.

[Annie]

Thanks for sharing that roasted corn technique - that is good to know!

I'm loving these salads so far.

[María I.]

I never thought of roasting my own corn. Not that I'm lazy but having a Trader Joe's nearby, I just used theirs.

This is such a great recipe when you have to feed a crowd. Wonderful flavors and easy on the budget.

Thank you for writing about Cinco de Mayo. I lived in Mexico City for two years and that day in history was never a big deal. Funny how in the USA it has become such an important day, commercially speaking.

Happy Drinko de Mayo! :)

[Marcia]

Now I know where to come for my Cinco de Mayo history post, LOL. Great salad, I think that if I had cut it in half, even with bringing some to the ladies in San Diego, I would have enough for lunch all this week. Definitely a chopping exercise.

[Jerry]

This was soo good. I discovered later int eh week that it made a great burrito as well. MMMMM