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July 15, 2010
45 Comments

Tomato, Corn & Black Bean Side Salad (or dip if you want it to be)

This is a perfect dish for all of those fresh tomatoes and cobs of corn that are now in season. One word of caution though, freshly harvested corn does not
have to be cooked long at all. I used to buy corn from the grocery store and boil it for 10 – 12 minutes, which seemed to be adequate. I totally ruined our first batch of local corn by overcooking it by a long shot. I only boiled the second batch for 3 minutes and it was still overdone! I guess the third time really is a charm because I finally decided to boil the corn for 1 short minute and it was perfect. So keep a close eye on that pot if you use fresh corn too.

I also want to mention a little something about the beans in this recipe (or any recipe that calls for beans). I used to always buy canned beans and think nothing of it. Now that I am actually reading the ingredients I have realized the advantage of dried beans – no added salt! Isn’t it odd that a bag of dried beans has 0 mg of sodium, but a can of the very same beans would have hundreds of grams of sodium in it? I will be the first to tell you that it doesn’t always work out for me to remember to soak the beans the night before, so I like to have a back-up can on hand (since it is a whopping 99 cents extra) just in case I forget. I am happy to report though, I just learned that the Earth Fare brand of canned organic beans have incredibly low sodium (maybe only 15 mgs…but don’t quote me on that) so next time you are there stock up on some of those for sure!
Corn, Black Bean and Tomato Salad on 100 Days of #RealFood

 

Tomato, Corn & Black Bean Side Salad

Course: Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time: 15 minutes

This would also make a great dip!

Print

Ingredients

  • 3 ears corn boiled for 1 minute (or longer if purchased at the grocery)
  • 2.5 cups black beans drained, rinsed, and cooked
  • 8 ounces cherry tomatoes halved
  • ½ cup red onion diced
  • ½ cup basil leaves only chopped (or cilantro)
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • basil for garnish (or cilantro)

Instructions

  1. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and gently mix with the beans, sliced tomatoes, and red onions in a large bowl.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together the basil (or cilantro), vinegar, oil, garlic and S & P.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad mixture and gently blend it together. Garnish with fresh basil (or cilantro) leaves and enjoy!

Reader Interactions

45 Comments

  1. Do you have to cook the black beans if they are canned? Or do you only have to cook them if you are using dry beans? Thanks!

    Reply

  2. Hi, I live in a tiny town and the closest “Whole Foods” style store is almost 200 miles away roundtrip. It’s just not feasible for us to go there.

    We only have 3 grocery stores in our area: Walmart, Meijers, and Kroger. I don’t eat meat, so that’s not a problem, but we don’t have a farmers market with local food.

    Is there any way my family can still eat all real food?

    Reply

    • Hi Stephanie. Yes yes! :) Just do your very best as your shop even with limited resources and avoid that processed stuff as much as possible. You might find it difficult to follow all the rules especially when it comes to local foods, but even stores like Walmart are getting better about what they stock….and I find Kroger to be particularly responsive to customer demand. Don’t give up if you find one particular rule difficult, just work around it. Strive simply to do better…you do not need to be perfect. You will find our FAQ pages helpful: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/frequently-asked-questions/.

      Reply

    • I know this response is very late, but I can get all the real and organic food I need at Meijer and/or Kroger. Meijer especially has a great organic selection.

      Reply

  3. love this recipe — definitely use cilantro — i made it for a party and put it in the center of a ring of guacamole — served with tortilla chips — so you could get a bit of guac and some of this on a chip — it was great and pretty, too!

    Reply

  4. Hi Lisa, this looks like a great side dish. Is there any particular type of corn you use? I’ve read that corn is a GMO food and not sure if it was safe to eat. Thank you!

    Reply

  5. So hard to find organic corn though. Even Whole Foods doesn’t have it. Corn has a lot of GMO so that’s why I avoid it. You can buy organic frozen, but it’s not the same as fresh.

    Reply

  6. Easy and delicious! This will definitely be a regular dish at our house. Served it as a side with quesadillas.

    Reply

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