Ingredients:
- 36 ounces frozen corn, thawed but not cooked
- 2 1/2 cups cooked and drained black beans (or 2 cans black beans drained and rinsed)
- 2 avocados
- 2 cucumbers (preferably English seedless, but any two will do)
- BIG handful fresh cilantro
- 1-4 fresh jalapeno or habanero chile peppers (depending on heat preference)
Dressing:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic or garlic paste
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard (I’m not joking. It’s really crucial!)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup canola or peanut oil
Combine corn and black beans in a large mixing bowl and set next to your cutting board. If using English cucumbers, remove plastic wrap, slice into long strips then slice the long strips into cubes then add to the corn and beans. (If using a standard, wax-coated cuke, peel first, then seed the cucumber before slicing into long strips and cubes and adding to the corn and beans.)
Wear gloves to stem and seed the chile peppers. Slice peppers into thin strips and then turn and cut across the strips to create tiny diced pepper pieces. Add to the other veggies. Remove large stems from your cilantro and roughly chop the leaves before adding to the veggies in the mixing bowl. Toss gently to mix.
In a jar with a tight fitting lid, add all ingredients for the dressing except the oil. Firmly screw the lid in place and shake like crazy until everything is evenly mixed. Remove the lid, add oil, replace lid and shake like the dickens. When the oil is suspended in the mixture (you don’t see pools of unincorporated oil) the dressing is ready. Pour over the salad and mix in thoroughly. Just before serving, halve the avocados and remove the pits. Use a butter knife to make slices in the avocados at even intervals from end to end without slicing through the skin. Rotate the avocado 90° and use the knife to cut across the slices you already made to create a grid. Insert a serving tablespoon between the skin and flesh of the avocado. Follow the contours of the avocado with the spoon down to the base of the avocado and up and out the other side. The perfect cubes of avocado should come easily away from the skin. Add to the salad, toss and serve immediately!
Leftovers can be refrigerated for a day or two and will taste wonderful, but the avocado will likely discolor. It’s still good to eat, just not quite as pretty!
