Quick, easy and inexpensive salad saves the day
This is one of those salads that just saves the day over and over again. Here are the reasons I love this salad: It’s fast, it’s really easy, it’s inexpensive, it’s crowd-pleasing, it’s vegetarian, it’s substantial, it’s colorful, it’s protein-filled, it’s a meal in itself, it looks great on a buffet, it’s super portable, it’s season-less, it’s make-ahead, it’s flexible, it can be doubled or tripled (or halved, but that’s not so much the point of this bigbatch salad).
I could keep going, but if you’re not convinced by now, I think you probably aren’t going to be.
SOUTHWESTERN BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALAD Servings: 10
DRESSING: 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste SALAD: 2 (15.5 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 cup chopped red or yellow onions
3 bell peppers, seeded and diced (red, yellow, orange, or a combination) 2 Haas avocados, diced 1 cup thinly sliced scallions 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
In a small container, combine the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, onions and peppers. Shake up the dressing, pour it over the salad and toss to combine. Sprinkle the scallions and/or the feta over the top if desired, and toss again, or put them out for people to add to their salad as they wish.
This salad is better if you make it a day ahead, refrigerate it, and then just add the avocado right before serving.
PER SERVING: 114 calories; 50 calories from fat; 6 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 112 mg sodium; 15 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 4 g protein.