Archive 2008 - 2019

Summer Salads: Bette's Mexican Bean Salad

by Pat Maley
6/20/2019

The summer is starting to heat up . As far as I am concerned there is no good reason to increase the temperatures in the kitchen by turning on the oven. Some of my favorite meals include protein on the grill and a cold salad, following by a seasonal fruit. Often I will cook enough chicken on Monday and have cold leftovers on Tuesday.  We tend to eat a little lighter in the summer and have more hectic schedules.

Lots of my cookout go-to salads are some version of potato or macaroni. Lets face it - they are easy and expected. Lately I have been trying out some bean salads and variations of cole slaw. The grocery stores are offering some great prepared vegetables. If I don't have a lot of time or the equipment to get the desired result then the bag of broccoli slaw or prepared zoodles (spiral cut zucchini) are good choices.  The bean salad I am about to give you came from a coworker, hence the name Bette's bean salad. It is great as a side salad and it often ends up on top of fresh greens. Make sure you use fresh lime and lemon juice as they are a central character in this salad's flavor panel. 

Bette's Mexican Bean Salad 

Ingredients:

15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

15 ounce can kidney beans, drained

15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

10 ounce package frozen corn, thawed or 15 ounce can corn

1 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons FRESH lime juice

1 Tablespoon lemon juice 

2 Tablespoons white sugar

1 Tablespoon salt

1 clove fresh garlic

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 Tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 Tablespoon ground black pepper

1 dash hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

In a large bowl combine beans, bell peppers, frozen corn, and red onion. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce and chili powder. Pour olive oil dressing over bean mixture;mix well. Chill thoroughly and serve cold. 

Comments (2)

W.O.W. good and healthy meal THANK YOU I will make this for sure

JEAN MORRISSEY | 2019-06-20 06:25:40

This sounds yummy!! I will be making this over the weekend. Thanks Pat (and Bette)!!

Linda Ahronian | 2019-06-20 05:41:40