Zesty Black Bean & Corn Salad
I love to serve this refreshing salad alongside Mexican dishes, grilled steak, or even as a nice side to hamburgers.
I love to serve this refreshing salad alongside Mexican dishes, grilled steak, or even as a nice side to hamburgers.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 roma tomatoes chopped
- 2 tablespoon tabasco sauce
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro minced
- 10 ounce frozen corn thawed and drained
- 15 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- Carbohydrate 28.9533352816948 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 3.90142014382282 g
- Fiber 7.86680997401593 g
- Protein 8.28952127913048 g
- Saturated Fat 0.591050008569873 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (177g)
- Sodium 36.3800086688746 mg
- Sugar 21.0865253076788 g
- Trans Fat 0.240629770945435 g
- Calories 174 calories
Step-by-step
- Whisk together the oil, tabasco sauce, & vinegar.
- Add in all of the remaining ingredients and stir gently to coat.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour prior to serving.
- This side salad should be served cold.
Olive oil carries fat-soluble flavor compounds from the chili powder and garlic across the dense surfaces of beans and corn. Without sufficient oil or fat content, spices taste powdery rather than integrated. The emulsion formed by whisking oil with red wine vinegar determines how well the dressing clings to smooth surfaces like canned black beans. Swapping red wine vinegar for lime juice alters the perceived brightness of the dish, though citrus acid degrades faster than acetic acid during extended storage. Fresh garlic minced finely releases allicin immediately, creating a sharper punch than garlic powder, which relies on moisture to rehydrate.
Standard table salt contains anti-caking agents and finer grains that dissolve faster than kosher salt. When substituting coarse kosher salt for the half teaspoon called for, increase the volume by twenty-five percent to account for the larger crystal size and trapped air pockets. Rinsing canned black beans under cold tap water removes excess canning liquid, which often tastes metallic and contains elevated sodium levels. Thawing frozen corn completely and draining excess moisture prevents the dressing from watering down during the resting phase.
Allowing this mixture to rest in the refrigerator for one hour gives plant cell walls time to absorb the acidic dressing through osmosis. Chilling beyond twenty-four hours causes roma tomatoes to release excess water, softening the crisp snap of green onions and corn kernels. Freezing is not recommended because thawed tomatoes and thawed green onions lose their cellular structure and turn mushy upon thawing.
