Black Bean and Corn Salsa

With the promise of vegetarian tacos firmly within my grasp, I knew that the dish was going to need some protein to give it some nourishing “staying power.” What better than black beans? They are my favourite in the legume family — I love their crunch, flavour, and their size.

Instead of the doing a refried bean, however, I wanted to stay with the notion of a salsa. There is nothing complicated about this dish … and the only ‘key’ to it is that I didn’t rinse the canned black beans to allow some of this precious juice to flavour the salsa. The addition of the corn is a great way to use already-cooked ‘leftover’ corn from the night before and it adds some sweetness to the salsa.

Like most salsas, letting this refrigerate for a period of time allows the flavours to better marry; as such, it is a dish that can easily be prepared in advance.

Serve with Vegetarian Tacos with Grilled Zucchini.

Prep time:   10 minutes
Cook time:  N/A
Total time:  10 minutes
Servings:    8

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of canned black beans
• 1/2 cup diced red onion but 1 tablespoon of their green tops
  → substitute green onion or chives for the tops
• 1 cup of fresh corn off the cob
  → use frozen corn if you don’t have fresh
• 1/2 cup of red bell pepper, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chile paste
• 3 fresh basil leaves cut chiffonade
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spoon out the beans directly from the can into a medium sized mixing bowl. Don’t intentionally scoop out any of the juice — just spoon in whatever sauce that comes with the beans naturally.
2. Take the precooked corn on the cob, and remove the kernels and add them to the beans.
   
3. Dice and mince the other veggies: red pepper, garlic, red onion and green onion. Roll the basil leaves into a ‘cigar’ and cut them them chiffonade. Add them all to the beans.
4. Mix in the oil, vinegar, chile paste, salt and pepper and taste. Adjust to your taste for heat (chile paste) and salt.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to a day in advance.

Serve with Vegetarian Tacos with Grilled Zucchini.