It is the
very beginning of tomato season in southeastern Pennsylvania. They haven’t turned up on most of the farm
stands, however the mid size folks, those with a greenhouse to start the plants
around March, will have beautiful, large tomatoes for you to enjoy. Since the large volume, the mother lode of
tomatoes isn’t here yet, try using them mixed in with other things, for example
as a flavor component in a salad.
Black Bean
Salad is a good example of this. Fresh tomatoes
combine well with the other vegetables, while their juice, mixed in with lime,
avocado and olive oil makes a fine dressing.
While I don’t always encourage this kind of thing, canned Goya Black Beans are a good product and
will save the hassle of cooking dried.
After all, it is summer, we don’t want to spend these glorious days in
the kitchen. Serve the salad over
romaine or with grilled chicken that has been marinated in lime, garlic, chilies
and olive oil.
Mexican
Black Bean Salad (serves 6 as a main course)
2 15.5 ounce
cans of black beans
2 large
tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 green
pepper, diced
1 red
pepper, diced
1 red onion,
diced
1 bunch
scallions, sliced
1 avocado,
scooped and roughly chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 tbs. olive
oil
the juice of
2 limes
2 chipotle chilies
in adobo sauce, chopped (La Costeña is a good brand)
salt and
freshly ground black pepper
Open the
cans of black beans, place them in a colander and rinse them with cold water to
wash off all the juice. Allow them to
drain completely while you assemble the salad.
In a large
mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, red and green peppers, onions, scallions and
avocado. Season them with salt and
pepper. Make the dressing in the same bowl by adding
the olive oil, lime juice and chipotle chilies.
Again adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Allow the salad to rest at room temperature
for 10 minutes so that the flavors of the vegetables and dressing will marry.
Stir in the
black beans. Mix to combine everything, check
the seasoning and make any final adjustments, then cover the salad and
refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
