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Summer picnic and BBQ season is here and requests for my famous black bean and corn chicken salad recipe are mounting again. I bring this dish to most parties I'm invited to, and everyone asks me for the recipe. Sorry, it does have legumes, citrus and raw peppers, not to mention a good deal of fiber from raw vegetables, so it's not for all MCers, but if you can tolerate it, you and your guests will love it!! I made up the salad many years ago and finally had to write it up. The recipe is below, but note I have never followed this exactly and I never measure. It's all "to taste" or approximate, but you really can't screw it up. And you can always add less lime, more salt, whatever to your liking. It's funny to me that it was always GF/DF/SF without trying. Now I make it so I'm sure to have something tasty I can eat besides plain chips and veggies at parties. Enjoy!
Zizzle's Original Corn and Black Bean Chicken Salad
Level of difficulty: EASY Time to prepare: How fast can you chop vegetables?
The following recipe will make a very large salad. For a family-sized salad, cut the proportions in half.
Ingredients:
CHILI-LIME DRESSING: (these are all approximate measures, adjust each to your liking)
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup fresh lime juice with pulp
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (more to taste)
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. salt (more to taste)
½ tsp. pepper (more to taste)
If you want to add some heat, add cayenne pepper to the dressing
SALAD:
3-4 grilled or sautéed chicken breasts (preferably marinated Goya Mojo or ½ BBQ sauce, ½ orange juice)
1 bag frozen corn (for best results, combine yellow and white corn or use Trader Joe’s fire roasted corn)
2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
3 bell peppers in assorted colors (red, yellow/orange, green) cut into 1 inch squares
5 carrots thinly sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion (finely chopped and soaked in warm water then rinsed to reduce the bite) (or add onion powder to dressing)
1 cup or half bunch coarsely chopped cilantro (more or less to taste)
DIRECTIONS:
Shake or whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside (or make the night before). Grill or sauté chicken breasts and set aside to cool. Place frozen corn and chopped vegetables in a large bowl. Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Shred (pull apart) chicken with a fork and add to bowl. Carefully toss in beans and cilantro. Toss with chili-lime dressing. Frozen corn should thaw before serving but will keep the salad cool (no need to refrigerate).
OPTIONAL ADD-INS:
Hearts of palm
Radishes
Cucumber
MAKE IT A MEAL! Add one of the following for an extra hearty entree:
Brown rice
Quinoa
