Uber Simple and Supremely Tasty Black Bean and Corn Salad

Too busy with back-to-school BS to cook anything interesting? This simple, healthy black bean and corn salad will change your game.

My girlfriend Bianca passed this recipe on to me when we first moved into Montclair. My son Ben soon adopted it as his hands-down favorite salad. I'm tempted to send him a vat of it, now that he's settling into his freshman year of college (and complaining about the food). But I'm not so sure how it will travel.

You, however, can whip it up in a flash. And once it's done, you’ll want to slurp this stuff right out of the bowl. Serve it as a side one night, sneak some for a snack the next day, and spoon it over grilled fish or pan-seared chicken breast for dinner that night. Try to cut the bell pepper, onion and tomato into pieces about the same size as the black beans. Of course, that’s not a must, but it refines the dish.

Ben and Bianca's Black Bean and Corn Salad

2  12-ounce cans black beans (no need to use dried)

One 12-ounce can (or a bit more) yellow corn (nice if you can use fresh sweet

corn cut off the cob, but not a deal breaker. I use canned all of the time.

I like yellow corn for this salad. Looks brighter; white sort of washes out.)

1 large green bell pepper

1-2 jalapeno peppers, diced very fine (adjust amount depending upon taste and hotness of the chile)

1 small onion

1 large tomato (or more if you’d like)

¼ cup chopped cilantro (or to taste)

Juice of two limes (or to taste)

¼ extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

A few dashes of Tabasco (to taste)

1.     Rinse and drain beans and corn.

2.     Combine in bowl with bell pepper, jalapeno, tomato, cilantro, and onion.

3.     Add lime juice and olive oil. Taste, adjust dressing acidity. Add salt and pepper to taste. Before going crazy with the jalapeno, let the salad sit for a while—the hotness take a bit of time to come out fully. Now you’re ready to add those dashes of Tabasco. Enjoy.