Mango black bean and avocado salad

A dear friend brought over a black bean salad a few months ago. I grabbed the recipe immediately and worked with it until it was just right for me.

I love this salad because it does double duty as a dip. It flies off the table when I serve it with tortilla chips, but it’s also excellent paired with just about any meat or fish.

If you don’t care for cilantro, substitute Thai basil. Sometimes, I use both herbs because they work well together and with the spices in the salad.

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This is a simple salad to make ahead of time so it works really well for Shabbat. If you choose to make it more than a couple of hours before serving, mix everything except the avocado and add that just before you place it on the table.

This is a flexible salad; you can add more of any ingredient if you have it on hand. It’s also excellent with a cup of sliced cherry tomatoes.

There’s no oil in this recipe, and the salad lasts several days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:
1 can canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 large avocado, peeled and diced
1 cup bell pepper, diced — choose red, orange or yellow
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup chopped cilantro
Juice from fresh limes, about 3 tablespoons
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon onion powder

Wash and prepare all the vegetables and place them in a bowl.

Mix in the lime juice, salt and spices.

Mix well, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Taste test the salad after two hours, and add more lime juice or salt as needed.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.