The BLACK BEAN SALAD is simple to make and delicious — perfect for summer when you want fresh, light foods without sacrificing flavor. Black beans add plenty of protein, making the salad healthy and filling. The other vegetables contribute texture, color and taste, not to mention a variety of nutrients that make you feel good!
Great served as a main course, starter or side, perhaps alongside a nice meat barbecue. Like all cold salads, it’s very practical: you can prepare it well in advance — in fact, the longer it rests the more flavor it develops.
Make it and you’ll see you won’t be able to do without it.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 13 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried black beans
- 1 red bell pepper (medium)
- 1 cup sweet corn (drained)
- 10 green olives
- 9 oz Piccadilly tomatoes
- 1 spring onion
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- basil
FOR THE BLACK BEAN SALAD YOU’LL NEED
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Pot
- 1 Cutting board
PREPARATION — BLACK BEAN SALAD
Place the black beans in a large bowl, fill with cold water and let them soak for 12 hours.
After soaking, drain them and put them in a large pot. Cover completely with cold water and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour. Add coarse salt only 15 minutes before draining so they don’t fall apart.
Then drain them, rinse briefly under running water and let them cool.
Trim the bell pepper, remove the seeds, cut into strips and then dice.
Wash the cherry tomatoes, halve them and remove the seeds. Then slice and cut into small pieces.
Transfer the beans to a bowl, add the pepper, tomatoes, drained corn, thinly sliced spring onion and chopped olives.
Dress with olive oil, salt, vinegar and basil. Mix everything well and refrigerate for 1 hour so the flavors can meld.
You can enjoy the black bean salad as is or use it to fill vegetarian tacos or quesadillas.
VARIATION
You can enrich the salad with whatever you like; I suggest adding avocado (add it just before serving to prevent browning) and a vinaigrette made with olive oil, lime juice and zest, and salt. This will give it a Tex-Mex flavor.
STORAGE
You can prepare the salad in advance and keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
