With the heat and humidity in full-swing here in Tonga, it's the perfect time to try out some new salads.
I must confess that I love salads...but only when somebody else makes them!! For some reason, my own salads just don't seem to taste that good to me :-( and my attempts at making my own salad dressings have been, well....interesting, shall we say?!
When I tried making this Bean Salad recently, it was the first time I actually enjoyed eating my own salad and the dressing tasted like....salad dressing. Hurrah! Success at last!
This recipe makes a large salad with plenty of leftovers.
So, without further ado:
Crunchy Mexican Bean Salad
1 can of mixed beans OR
1 cup of dry beans, soaked overnight, then rinsed and boiled in water for 1
hour or until almost soft (not TOO soft, otherwise they turn into mush!) I used our "Mixed Salad Beans"
1 can corn kernels (Not easy to find in Tonga. The creamed variety may work, but I haven't tried it.)
1 carrot, finely diced
1 capsicum, finely diced
2 cups cooked rice
1 small bunch of spring
onions
DRESSING
1/3 cup olive oil
5 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp cayenne pepper (Or adjust to taste, I added more...)
½ garlic clove, finely
grated/minced
Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
Mix together all the
salad ingredients.
In a separate bowl, mix
together all the dressing ingredients and whisk together with a fork. Or you
can place them all into an empty glass jar, put the lid on and shake until well
mixed. Drizzle over the top of salad and stir through.
This tastes even better
if you leave in the fridge for an hour before serving, which allows the
flavor to deepen.
