Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Black Bean, Sweet Pepper, and Citrus Salad

This salad was from a cookbook I recently received - more on that later - and I thought it was really different.

Well, black bean salad isn't exactly earth-shaking, but this one - even though it was from a Latin cookbook - wasn't spicy at all. And it didn't have cilantro.

But it did have basil. I thought that was an unusual ingredient for a Latin American recipe, but it worked really, really well.

I ate this salad as a side dish with a cuban chicken recipe from another book. Then I ate it all by itself as snack. Then I added some diced avocado to some of it.

When I got to the very last bit of salad, I added a little bit of Tabanero hot sauce, and it was good that way, too. To be clear, Tabanero sent me some samples, and I've been pretty much putting it on everything but I wasn't required to post about it.

This would be the perfect side dish if you're feeding people who aren't super-crazy about spicy food, because it's got great flavor. And of anyone wants more heat ... well, you can always have diced peppers or hot sauce standing by to make it hotter.

Or not.

If you're serving it with spicy food, it's nice to have something not-spicy as a side dish.

Like all salads of this type, the flavors mingle nicely after the salad sits for a while, so I suggest making this the day before you want to serve it - which is great if you've got lots of prep work to do on the say when you want to serve it - this can be in the refrigerator waiting for you.

For more about the book itself, check out my book blog.

Black Bean, Citrus, and Sweet Pepper Salad
Adapted from Mi Comida Latina by Marcella Kriebel

1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 16-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 handful fresh basil, chopped
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon orange zest
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine everything in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper and give it a stir.

Taste for seasoning and add more salt or pepper, if desired. Or perhaps a little more vinegar, if you want something just a little more tart.

Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before serving. Overnight is even better.


Yum