Corn and Black Bean Salad

This salad was inspired by ingredients I had on hand. I had picked up some beautiful local sweet corn the other day. I also had some sweet peppers and home canned black beans. I knew the trio would work well together.

I used fresh corn in this dish. You could use frozen corn, if that was all you had. Fresh corn season is too short around here. I always buy extra corn for freezing. I just blanch the shucked corn for a few minutes  in boiling water, then drop into ice water. Once the corn is cool enough to handle, I cut the corn off the ears. Then I package up the corn and freeze it.

You could also grill corn and cut it off the cob to freeze.

I like to boil the cobs after the corn is cut off, for a corn stock, which I also freeze. The cobs have a lot of flavor.

If using the frozen corn in a salad, you’ll want to drain it after thawing.

So here is the recipe. Pretty simple. You could add some sweet onion, if you like, too.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

4 c. cooked corn

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 sweet pepper, seeded and chopped

¼ c. olive oil

3 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. Balsamic vinegar

2 t. Italian seasoning- I used my Tuscan blend

Salt and pepper to taste

Hot sauce to taste, optional

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Stir to combine well. Chill before serving. Serves 6-8.