Top | Salads

Black Bean Salad with Chipotle-Cumin Dressing

(recipe, Carrie Floyd)

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Introduction

This salad makes an easy meal when paired with quesadillas or fajitas. When I buy the chipotles in adobo sauce, I transfer the leftover chiles into a jar and store it in my refrigerator for later use; as long as the chiles are submerged in the adobo sauce, they last for a long time.

Ingredients

Dressing

1. ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2. 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
3. 1 tsp. ground cumin
4. 2 tsp. chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped
5. Generous pinch of salt
6. ½ cup canola or extra-virgin olive oil

Salad

1. 3 cups cooked black beans
2. 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
3. 1½ cups cooked corn kernels
4. ½ cup red onion, chopped
5. ½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
6. ¾ tsp. salt

Steps

1. Place the lime juice, minced garlic, cumin, chopped chipotle chiles, and salt in a small-to-medium bowl (or a 2-cup measuring cup) and whisk together. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly, until the dressing is smooth.
2. Place the beans, bell pepper, corn, onion, and cilantro in a medium-large bowl and toss with the dressing until everything is lightly coated. Season to taste with salt.

Note

This salad tastes better if it sits at room temperature for a while, allowing the beans to soak up some of the dressing and the flavors to marry.