Black Bean and Corn Salad

Now that the warmer weather is here I’m starting to think about what to make for patio and picnic time. This salad is super tasty, and really healthy too. For me it’s a great quick meal salad, and since it keeps in the fridge for a few days I can just dig in whenever I need a little something to eat. You can also mix and match at you see fit, for example if you don’t like peppers you can substitute a bit of jicama or apple or whatever you’d like.

If you use canned beans and corn, all you have to do is make the dressing and add in whatever veg and herbs you like – super easy! Then let it all sit for about half an hour before you dig in.

I found the recipe here, and I just downsized the amounts. I used canned corn instead of frozen because I find frozen corn a bit rubbery, and peaches and cream corn is the best. I also added some freshly chopped tomato to the top of each salad, and a bit of extra bell pepper.

Avocado makes a great addition to the top of each salad serving. Sadly, I could not find a ripe avocado in the five stores I checked. They could charge double for the ripe ones… I’d pay double for a perfectly ripe avocado – would you?

What you need for the salad:

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• I can peaches and cream corn, along with the liquid
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, de-seeded and diced (amount dependent on your heat preferences)
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

What you need for the dressing:

•  2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• a pinch of cayenne pepper

What you do:

1. Mix up all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
2. In a larger bowl, combine all the salad ingredients. Stir the dressing into the salad.
3. Let the salad sit in the fridge with a cover over it for half an hour, or a few hours.