Let's Do Lunch Community

Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers, Avocado and Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

By Jennifer Segal


This recipe was inspired by one of my readers, who sent me a fabulous Mexican Bean Salad recipe. Thank you, Ellen! It’s perfect for entertaining because it’s festive and you can make it ahead of time — in fact, you should because it gets better and better the longer it sits. I made it last weekend when we had friends over for a cookout and everyone loved it.



I’ll be honest with you, this salad involves a fair amount of chopping and fussing — nothing difficult but it does take some time to put together. I hope that won’t discourage you. It makes such a large amount, you’ll be eating it for days, and it’s substantial so you don’t need to serve much else with it. I made it with these Perfectly Grilled Chicken Breasts and roasted sweet potato wedges.



Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 ears fresh cooked corn, kernels cut off the cob
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced shallots, from one medium shallot
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Colavita
1 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 Hass avocados, chopped

For the beans, make life easy on yourself and use canned. You could certainly buy them dried and soak them overnight but I don’t think it’s worth the time or trouble here. Just be sure to rinse and drain them well.



Since you’re saving time on the beans, definitely opt for fresh corn. Canned is awful and frozen won’t give you the crunch you need.


Fresh lime juice is also a must. If you don’t already have one, get yourself an inexpensive citrus juicer like this one…it makes life in the kitchen so much easier.


When you make this salad, you have to wait a while for the flavors to meld together. At first, it may taste a little too acidic but give it a few hours in the fridge and the sharpness will mellow out.


Instructions

1.Combine all ingredients except for avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a more chopped cilantro if desired. Serve at room temperature.


Mark my words, this salad will keep you coming back for seconds and thirds — it’s addictive!


Copyright © Once Upon a Chef
http://www.onceuponachef.com/2010/08/bl ... rette.html

I know this will be yummy! I LUUUUVVV Mexican cuisine... I Bookmarked this one.

Have to try it today.  Could I have this for dinner meal??

Thank you for the post.

Martha

Yes, Martha this is appropriate for an evening meal.

Avacados are not recommended for weight loss on LDL since they are colorie dense, but oh so healthy.
I would advise to limit the amount of avacados if you are going to be eating something like this on a daily basis until you see how they affect you.
Not recommended by Roger but some have said they can eat avbacados and continue to loose or maintain.

Wow, Linda- That got an immediate bookmark!  Pam

Thanks Linda, this is my kind of recipe!

I made this to share at the potluck tomorrow. I hope they like it. We are having cold foods: salad, sandwiches, fruit and veggie tray with dip and of course Chips I am looking forward to fellowshipping with old friends. LIFE IS VERY GOOD!

I know some people can eat these icky green fruits and lose but my question is why they want too! LOL EWWWW


The rest of the salad looks YUMMA though!


Blessed and Loved,
LP

Well, this has inspired me. I don't have all the ingredients, but what I do have will be put together and enjoyed with some chicken for lunch. Thanks for the recipe.
Pat

Pat,
This was a staple dish for me this past summer, and now will remain for all seasons!
I made huge batches and put in the freezer. I didn't add the sugar,avocado or the oil. I did those things only when it was fresh...but then later on......
I would pull a "jug" out from the freezer and add fresh chicken, or the avocado, or huge artichokes. I added the olive oil when I wanted it. What ever I was in the mood for. At night, I added veggie broth and a can of fire roasted tomatoes and it was my evening soup. Dumped it all on top of my salad greens. It is just so versatile
I love how Linda posted all the pictures. Makes me hungry and want for the good stuff!!
I think I am going to use it for my computer wall paper. The colors are just fantastic and good for all season.
Zesti

Everyone at church raved about my bean and corn salad recipe. I had salad with blue cheese drsg. and my bean salad on top. I ate 3 small bowls then fresh fruit for dessert. They had peanut butter and jelly sands and they didn't tempt me at all because I had my PB fix last night. I was talking to one of the ladies and she said she would like to try the beanut butter. I think I'll take snacks on Sunday night. Life is good.

Zesti,
I agree with you about the pictures. All I have to do is look at them and I start drooling. I like your ideas about freezing. I'm going to do that. I really like avocados, so I'll make sure I have those. I also buy giant jars of artichoke hearts at Sam's, so that will be a nice addition. I had never thought about adding chicken. It is a versatile dish.

Omalani,
Okay, what is Beanut Butter? That's new since I was last trading recipes. I made some sugar free BBQ sauce and had it with rotisserie chicken (not the whole thing!)for lunch today. Good stuff. How did my picture get put in? Who was the sweet person who did that, or did I have to amass a certain number of responses and it just happens automatically? That picture is five years old!! It was taken for my honey's and my 50th. We celebrated our 55th yesterday. Have I already told everybody that? Oh,well! Hope you all have a wonderful week!!

God bless each of you,
Pat

Wow, you really look good, maybe 30 something. The beanut butter is on the board as a treat I think, but I cut the recipe in half and used white beans instead of garbanzos and kidney beans. Then it really didn't taste like peanut butter so I added 3 heaping Tbs. of real peanut butter. I also sweetened it with a little splenda. If you type in beanut butter and find it in the topic (re: Beanut butter) click on that then scroll up to the top which usually has the recipe. However any post with the word beanut butter will be listed. If that doesn't work I send you the original recipe.

I still had your pictures on my computer so while I was being successful at posting them now, I added yours.
If you have another picture you like better send it to me and I will post it for you.

Linda,
My tech hero! Thank you. No, I'll live with that picture for the time being. I got my Dad's genes. Every time I went anywhere with him, they thought he was my husband! I guess we age slowly, only don't enlarge the picture or you will see all the wrinkles.

I have had the tiniest smear of PB on a corn thin with sugar free jam and it really satisfied my PB buds. I think I'll stick with that unless I get desperate. I used to eat it right out of the jar!

Pat

You might try some beanut butter, it doesn't sound great but really tastes good and I added 3 heaping Tbs. of real PB and the beanut butter tasted like the real thing. It is easy to spread on corn thins, apple slices, banana slices and I am going to use it on Thai lettuce wraps with chicken and shredded veggies. If you don't like the beanut butter you can throw it in soup, stew or chili to thicken it and add extra flavor. I think it would be good in Thai stir-fry too. I love how you can be so creative with God's creations and varity of flavors and colors and still lose weight. The processed foods don't even look appealing, and they never look like the photo on the box or the TV!! The food on LDL really does look like the pictures posted. The less processed the food, the more flavorful and colorful it is and the more vitamins it contains. LDL is a win-win-lose Plan, but the only lose is your weight!!

Omalani,
I would appreciate the Beanut Butter recipe. I looked in the treats section, but didn't find anything like it. Should I look somewhere else?
Pat

It's listed under sauces, dips and seasonings. Sorry for the wild goose chase. Hope you saw something else you liked.
The original recipe:
"Beanut" Butter

1 can (2 cups) kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (2 cups) garbanzo beans, rinsed & drained
1 heaping Tbsp. cinnamon
1 heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice
dash sea salt
1/2 t. stevia powder
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 T. evoo (approx, optional)
applesauce and/or more canned pumpkin to make a thinner consistency

My variation:
I made some beanut butter but used 1 can of white beans and 1 can pumpkin. I drained the beans but didn't rinse them so I didn't add salt. I added 2 tbs. splenda and a dash of cinnamon. It tasted a little like whipped peanut butter but I wasn't happy with it so I added 3 heaping Tbs. of chunky peanut butter (no HFCS in it) and thinned it with a little coconut milk. It really satisfied my taste for PB. I put some hot water and a pack of SF hot cocoa mix in the blender to rinse all the "PB" out. It was a delicious hot drink. It made at least 2 cups of beanut butter, so there is very little peanut butter in the amount I used on my corn thins. I want to try it out on my grandkids to see if they like it. Sorry about the non-LDL peanut butter but maybe in a small amount it will keep me out of the high fat regular PB. This looks and tastes like creamy peanut butter. It was great on apple slices and I look forward to having it on corn thins with banana slices. I am loving all the new combinations of food that is helping get thin. I can truly thank God for my food and not feel guilty eating as much as I want. I think I might try some Thai lettuce wraps using beanut butter as a spread on the bottom. God's creation is so awesome and you are one of His best creations and don't be callin' God a liar, when He created Adam and Eve, He said, "It is very good!"
I am still working on it to getr the exact measurments and flavor.