Corn and Black Bean Salad with Cilantro and Lime

The salads continue! New York has been blistering hot this week. A pressure cooker, you could say. Cold salads are the only thing palatable in this weather (with no A/C nonetheless!) I grew up eating this corn and black bean salad – it’s a mainstay on my Mom’s summer menu. I remember as a kid we would take day trips to Southwick Beach on Lake Ontario, about 45 minutes from where I grew up near Syracuse, New York. On the way home, we would always stop for fresh corn from roadside stands – the best! The corn was so delicious, you would barely need butter or salt (my Grandpa always ate it like that). While it’s still a bit early in the season for local corn, I couldn’t resist snagging a few ears for this salad.

Corn and Black Bean Salad with Cilantro and Lime

Yield: Approx. 6 cups

Ingredients

• 2 ears corn, shucked
• 1 red bell pepper, small dice
• 1 small red or yellow tomato, cored and seeded, small dice
• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, cleaned and finely chopped
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2-3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1.  Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Add corn and cover, simmering until fork tender. Remove and cool.
2. Meanwhile, combine red bell pepper, tomato, red onion, cilantro and black beans. Add lime juice and drizzle with olive oil, adding more to taste. Add cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper; mix thoroughly.
3. When corn is cool, remove from cobs and toss with black bean mixture, adding more lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Chill 1 hour before serving.

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