Black Bean Salad with Lime Zing Dressing

This is the salad to make when you need to feed people something cold that does not wilt. Black beans hold their shape, the dressing improves them while they sit, and the whole thing survives an afternoon on a table outside.

The dressing is lime, cumin and TABASCO® Green Sauce. Beans are starchy and a bit flat on their own, so they need more acid than you would expect. Two limes is not a mistake.

Ingredients

• 2 x 400 g cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 200 g corn kernels (canned, or cut from a grilled cob)
• 1 avocado, diced
• large handful cilantro, chopped
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• juice of 2 limes
• 1-2 tsp TABASCO® Green Sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• salt and black pepper

Preparation

1. Whisk the olive oil, lime juice, TABASCO® Green Sauce, honey, cumin, salt and pepper together in the bottom of a large bowl.
2. Add the black beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion and corn, and turn everything through the dressing.
3. Leave it for 10 minutes. The onion loses its raw edge and the beans take up the dressing, and the salad is noticeably better for it.
4. Fold in the avocado and cilantro just before serving, so the avocado stays in pieces rather than turning to paste.

Notes

You can build the whole salad except the avocado and cilantro a day ahead. It keeps well in the fridge and only needs a stir and the two fresh additions before it goes out.

Canned corn is fine. Corn cut off a grilled cob is better, and worth doing if the barbecue is already lit.

For a smokier salad use Chipotle instead of the Green Sauce. If you would rather make the dressing properly in a jar, the green vinaigrette works here too.

Keep reading

• The green vinaigrette in a jar
• Grilled corn on the cob
• More things to cook with TABASCO®