Black bean salad with avocados has actually been my staple lunch for quite sometime now. Black beans I like and avocados I simply adore! I cannot have enough of the combination ever. This week I tried something additional in my salad and the outcome was truly fabulous. We got farm fresh nectarines from our local farm last weekend and I just decided to add those to my salad making a sweet and tangy honey-ginger-lemon dressing to go with it. I had a kiwi left alone in my fruit basket so I threw that in as well. I also added an abundant quantity of walnuts and dried cranberries to give the most satisfying salad. The nectarines (or you can just use peaches) satisfied my sweet cravings so well that I did not even hunt for a sweet something (which I normally do) after lunch. Simply divine!
By the way, I looked up some information on peaches and nectarines and I found this interesting – Fresh peaches provide respectable amounts of the antioxidant vitamins A and C in addition to potassium and fiber. Nectarines provide twice the vitamin A, slightly more vitamin C, and much more potassium than peaches. (source: http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/peaches.html)
Ingredients for salad:
This recipe will make 2 servings if used as an appetizer or 1 serving if used as lunch
3/4 cup cooked black beans(if using canned, then wash and drain)
1 cup of roughly chopped iceberg lettuce
1/2 of a medium size tomato, chopped to bite size pieces
1/2 of a ripe avocado, chopped thinly , about 1/2 inch thick cubes
1/4 of a medium size cucumber, de-seeded and chopped to about 1/2 inch thick cubes,
1 medium size ripe nectarine (or peach) , cut into thin slices,
1 small kiwi, cut into thin slices (optional)
1/4 cup walnuts
1 tbsp dried cranberries
For the dressing:
Olive oil 1 tbsp
lime juice(freshly squeezed) 1 tsp
juice of a ginger (freshly squeezed) 1 tsp
salt -a pinch or per your taste
chipotle pepper powder or chaat masala (optional) – 1/2 tsp
Take a small mixing bowl and add all the dressing ingredients and whisk together gently.
Take all the salad ingredients except the walnuts and the dried cranberries and put into a large mixing bowl. Add the dressing and mix with a salad spoon so that all the ingredients are well coated with the dressing. Lastly just add the walnuts and the cranberries and enjoy!
