Soft beans and avocado provide a creamy texture, the crunch comes from the sweet corn, chopped onions and tomatoes, the lemon dressing is tangy, the pineapple tidbits are sweet, thinly-sliced chilies give off heat, and the chopped scallions and parsley impart a raw freshness.
A few notes about the ingredients. Of course you can use fresh beans, corn and pineapple. The salad will likely taste better with all-fresh ingredients. I would have opted to do that except that the preparation time would have been much, much longer.
You may use any kind of beans — kidney beans, butter beans, pinto beans… any or all of them together will work just as well as black-eyed beans.
The amount of ingredients is just a guide. If you prefer more beans to corn, just modify the proportion given in the list. If you want more sweetness, add more pineapple tidbits. If heat is your thing, double the amount of chili, and so on, and so forth.
Corn and bean salad
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup canned black-eyed beans
- ⅔ cup canned sweet corn kernels
- ½ cup canned pineapple tidbits
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 2 medium tomatoes - seeds removed then chopped
- 1 small avocado - chopped
- 1 finger chili - thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- 1 tablespoon finely sliced scallions
- 1 tablespoon torn cilantro
Instructions
- Drain the beans, corn and pineapple tidbits well. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add the chopped onion, tomatoes, avocado and chili. Toss.
- Drizzle in the lemon or lime juice. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Toss again. Taste. Add more lemon or lime juice, salt or pepper, or all of them, as needed.
- Cover the bowl with cling wrap and chill the in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse.
- Take the salad out of the fridge, taste again and add more lemon or juice, salt or pepper, or all of them.
- Add the sliced scallions and chopped parsley. Toss a few more times. Serve the black-eyed beans and corn salad slightly chilled.
