Black Bean Salad...

This is the first of many recipes that will be from Jennifer Raymond (see below*).  Most of my favorite recipes seem to come from her.  This salad is named both Fiesta Salad and Aztec Salad but I would never remember what that means so we call it by the very original name of 'black bean salad'.

Black Bean Salad

a recipe from Jennifer Raymond

For the salad:
3 15-ounce cans of black beans, drained
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 large tomatoes, diced (or petit diced from a can)
1 green pepper, diced
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3/4 cup chopped cilantro, optional

For the dressing:
2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 lime or lemon, juiced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper or pinch of cayenne
1/2-1 teaspoon salt

Combine the salad ingredients.  Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.  Toss gently to mix.  Can be made in advance.

Notes:  I like to use green, red, yellow and orange peppers if they look good.  I also prefer to use petit diced tomatoes from a can when produce tomatoes look tasteless.  I just substitute what looks like a good amount to me at the time.  I prefer lime and cayenne for the dressing.  If starting beans from scratch use 11/2 cups dry beans.




*We were introduced to Jennifer Raymond's recipes in the back of Food For Life by Neal Barnard.  Many of those same recipes are in The Peaceful Palate by Jennifer Raymond.  All the recipes are vegan, made with 'normal' ingredients and are 'keepers'!  The recipes in the two books are not absolutely identical and sometimes go by different names.  If a recipe I post comes from Jennifer Raymond it will be from one of these two books.