When the going gets hot...

[Red pepper, bean and corn salad]

...the hot chop vegetables. Or something like that. It's too hot at 90 degrees (F) or so to be clever. Last summer, I eventually adjusted to the heat, but this heat wave came on so suddenly on top of 50-degree temps we've been having that none of us has had time to get "tropicalized" (to use my Nigerian friend's term when we visited him in the wilting heat of New York last Labor Day weekend).

Summer is here, so it seemed time for one of my favorite summer dishes, Red Pepper, Bean and Corn Salad. Here's the recipe:

1 16-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 16-ounce can of white navy beans, rinsed and drained (sometimes I omit these)
1 cup chopped red or Vidalia onion
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 to 2 cups cumin vinaigrette

Cumin Vinaigrette (makes 2 cups)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (or mustard powder)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

1.  Mix up the vinaigrette and set aside.

2.  Put all salad ingredients in a bowl. Pour in the vinaigrette and stir to coat.

3.  Chill for 30 minutes or more. Stir again before serving.
 

Comments

[Dave]

That looks good! Yep, I've been salading here, too. Last night we had tabouleh, the night before a pasta salad and a brocolli-seaweed salad. Tonight, something rather like your salad here, without the mustard and with Chinese 5-spice powder and blanched asparagus.

[maria]

Yum... and inspiring, as the temperature is rising around here, too. Finally!

[Joe]

My flat mate is picking up a few of the ingredients (we're out of vinegar and cumin) and we'll be giving this a try tonight or tomorrow.

Thank you for the recipes! I made your penne with spinach, garlic and chick peas for a second time last week. It's one of my favorite dishes.

[rr]

Yummy!

I got celeriac and carrots at the farmers' market today to make good old celeriac rémoulade and carotte rappé. Nothing like it with a decent hunk of bread.

Ah, at least there are *some* compensations for the heat which I otherwise rather dislike.

[leslee]

Dave: Sounds yummy. Anything with asparagus is good with me.

Maria: It's a bit too hot here now, though I hear it's going down into the 80's this week. Still, good weather for light food.

Joe: Oh good, glad the penne dish is working out for you. Let me know how the salad works for you!

RR: Well, I had to look up both dishes, and found a couple of gems (at least they look like gems): Carottes Rappés à l'Avocat from Chocolate and Zucchini, and Celeriac Rémoulade from none other than Julia Child. I'm printing out both.

[Joe]

We really enjoyed the salad! I made it per your specification minus the white beans (my flate mate isn't fond of them though I love just about any bean) today at lunch. I didn't end up using all the vinaigrette so I put it in a bowl and we used it on green salads for dinner.

Thanks again for sharing it.

[leslee]

Oh, very cool. Yes, it makes a lot of dressing, especially when you use fewer beans. We're expecting another hot one, so I'll be eating it for dinner tonight! (For lunch, I'll be in AC, so thought I'd save it for the steam this evening.)

[Beth W.]

Oh, thanks for this recipe. It's so hot here in the Florida panhandle; we're having thunder, but no rain. Cool salads are the medicine for my fevered brain!

[marja-leena]

Sounds so cooling and delicious I can hardly wait for some hot weather for main meal salads like this. I don't much like heat but our current unusually cold wet spell is too much like November. The oven is on every night for hot dishes while the fireplace is roaring. We refuse to turn the heating system back on in June!

[Leslee]

Beth: I would have to live on cool salads - and maybe gazpacho - all summer if I lived down there.

Marja-Leena: Yikes, you have the fireplace going? Well, I shouldn't be surprised - last week we had the heat on to take the chill off. Be careful what you wish for!

[Anna]

Thanks for that salad, I made it tonight for American guests and it went down very well with warm French bread and a glass of Chablis.