This Black Bean Salad with Jicama, Tomatoes, Cilantro, and Lime is a delicious summer side dish, and this tasty salad combination is vegan, gluten-free, South Beach Diet friendly, and perfect for Meatless days!! I can eat this with tortilla chips all day long!! I add extra cilantro in mine!
Makes 4 generous servings
Ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained well
2 T + 1 tsp. fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. garlic pure (or finely minced garlic)
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 small jicama, peeled and diced into small cubes
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes (I used Roma tomatoes, but any type of flavorful tomato will work)
4 green onions, cleaned and sliced
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Pour black beans into a colander placed in the sink, rinse well with cold water (until no more foam appears) and let beans drain well. (You can pat them dry with paper towels if you're in a hurry.)
In a small bowl, mix together lime juice, garlic puree, and ground cumin, and then whisk in olive oil. Put the drained beans into a plastic or glass bowl and stir in 2 T of the dressing. Let beans marinate in the dressing while you prep other ingredients.
Peel jicama and dice into small cubes. (I used a vegetable peeler, but if your peeler isn't very sharp it might be easier to cut the jicama into slices and cut off the peeling with a knife. Don't get discouraged, because jicama is delicious in this salad.) Dice enough tomatoes to make 1 cup tomatoes. Clean green onions, then slice. Wash cilantro and spin dry or dry with paper towels, then chop enough to make 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped cilantro.
Stir jicama pieces, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro into the marinating beans. Stir in the rest of the dressing, season the salad with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and serve.
This salad was not bad when it had been in the fridge overnight, but the flavor was definitely best when it was freshly made. You could make it a few hours ahead and keep it at room temperature if needed.
