mama laura’s world famous black bean salad

it’s the family joke around here. it’s my go-to dish for taking-to and serving-at parties. so my gang is a little sick of it. but it is SO yummy...and so many people have asked. so here it is. from bon appetit magazine ages ago when i used to have the time to cook fancy. (but this recipes is not fancy...it is SO easy and definitely a good one to experiment with. the recipe doesn’t call for cilantro...but i think it cries out for it. and i usually use 2 cans of black beans instead of one) and at end of the summer with lots of cucumbers and banana peppers around...go for it.)


ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic (not enough! add more!)

2 1/2 cups cooked long-grain white rice (about 1 cup raw), cooled
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped green onions

Lettuce leaves (optional)

prep

Whisk oil, vinegar, mustard, cumin and garlic in medium bowl until well blended. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine rice, beans, peppers and onions in large bowl. Toss salad with enough dressing to moisten. (i just use all the dressing it just soaks into the rice) Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Line large serving bowl with lettuce leaves, if desired. Spoon salad into bowl and serve.

active time

i heart everyday food.
i really do. i dog-ear at least 10 pages every month...and make most of them.
mushroom and black bean tortilla casserole...yum. mushroom and barley soup, even yummier.
the photo above is bean and cheese enchiladas*. i tasted better than the photo looks**. the thing is...and this is the part where i start complaining...the mag lists it as active time: 20 minutes...total time 30 minutes. really? maybe martha, but not me. for starters, it took me 10 minutes to dig out my food processor and re-clean it since i did such a lousy job the last time i did it. then i had to chase summer down to make sure she didn’t eat the onion i dropped on the floor. (she’s allergic) “use caution when blending hot liquids”...should of used a little more of that. and finally, having to squeeze 4th grade math homework in between steps. this dinner totally took me at least twice marthas’ time. and like i said...it was good, but not THAT good. i’ll have to start marking the recipes i plan to do over with laura-time.

*amy...the cottage cheese wasn’t as gross as we thought
**the best part of the recipe...the homemade enchilada sauce. im glad i had leftovers to freeze.