I love leafy green salads, but I also love salads that bring a little more “substance” to the table. This salad is a bit of a spin on a traditional black bean salad, because I prefer the taste of a black bean that’s been lightly sauteed with some spices. It doesn’t look as clean, but I’d rather eat something super tasty rather than have something perfectly pretty (plus I think the gorgeous colors in this salad more than make up for it!).
A lot of bean salad will recommend using all raw veggies, but I think the secret to really making the flavor pop is to get a little bit of a grill or char on the skin of the peppers before you cut them up. Grilling peppers skin down keeps a good bite in the texture of the pepper, but brings their flavor to a new level. If you have access to a real grill I highly recommend using that; unfortunately the grills in my apartment community have been closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, so I subbed in my cast iron grill pan.
To start you clean the peppers and cut them into quarters, then place them skin side down on a hot grill or grill pan. Check the bottom after a few minutes, you’ll notice that the area around the grill marks is a different shade than the still uncooked skin. Continue to grill until that shade is covering the skin of the pepper, signaling the skin is now soft and cooked and will have that enhanced flavor. Take off the grill once you have achieved this to avoid ending up with overly soft peppers. To hold up with the other elements of this salad you want the peppers to still have some toothsome quality to them.
While your peppers are grilling, rinse your beans (I used black and red kidney beans but you can use all black beans if you prefer). To a heavy bottom pan bring to medium heat and add the oil followed by the black beans and the spices. Give them a quick saute to cook the spices, but do not overcook because you don’t want the beans to break down and lose their shape all together. Chop up the rest of your ingredients, when the peppers were done, dice those and add them to a bowl holding the rest of your ingredients!
Dress the salad with a splash of vinegar and some fresh lime juice, then stir to combine! You can leave as is and serve as a side or use it to top a bed of greens. This will make a great upgraded side at any memorial day picnic you have planned!
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/2 green bell pepper
- 1/2 orange bell pepper
- 1/2 large yellow onion
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 1 red fresno chili pepper (exclude either this or the jalapeno pepper if you prefer a mild spice level)
- 1 cup diced tomatoes (I used quartered grape tomatoes but any will work!)
- 1 cup frozen sweet corn
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 lime
- Splash white vinegar
Instructions
- Halve and trim the bell peppers. With the half you are using in this recipe, halve it again so you have two quarters of a whole bell pepper.
- Dice the onion, tomatoes, and cilantro and set aside in a mixing bowl. Add the frozen corn to the bowl to allow it to thaw.
- Heat your grill or grill pan to a medium heat. Add the peppers (including the whole jalapeno and red fresno chili pepper) skin sides down. Grill until all the skin is cooked and there are visible grill marks, be sure to remove from the grill before the peppers lose their shape and cook fully, you want them to still have a bite to them. Set aside on a cutting board to cool.
- Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Then add the oil, followed by the garlic, beans, chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook until spices are well incorporated and no longer raw. Remove the beans from the pan before they break down and lose their individual shapes.
- Dice the cooled bell peppers and finely dice the jalapeno and red fresno pepper. Add all components to the mixing bowl. Dress with a splash of white vinegar and the juice of 1/2 fresh lime. Mix all ingredients to combine.
- Serve as a side or over a bed of greens as a stand alone salad!
Eat Drink and Pat Pups 