Black bean & corn salad

8 servings, about 7 cups (1.75 L)

Ingredients

2 to 3 limes
3 tbsp ( 45 mL) olive oil
1 tsp ( 10 mL) ground cumin
¼ to ½ tsp (1 to 2 mL) hot red pepper flakes
¼ cup ( 50 mL) each of finely chopped fresh parsley and coriander
½ to 1 tsp (2 to 5 mL) salt
2 cans ( 19 oz/540 mL) black beans or 2 cups (500 mL) dry black beans, cooked (see tip, below)
3 cups ( 750 mL) fresh or frozen cooked corn kernels
1 large sweet red pepper
4 green onion
8 medium tomatoes (optional)
Another advantage of this salad in a barbecue buffet: it makes a delicious entrée for vegetarian guests.

Instructions

Finely grate peel from 1 lime. Squeeze out ¼ cup juice from limes. In a large mixing bowl, whisk oil with peel, juice, cumin and pepper flakes. Do not add salt. Stir in parsley and coriander.
If using canned beans, drain and discard liquid. Rinse under cold running water and drain well. Taste beans; if salty, stir only ½ teaspoon salt into dressing. If using freshly cooked beans, stir in 1 teaspoon salt. Add drained beans and corn to dressing but do not stir. Coarsely chop pepper. Thinly slice green onions. Add both to salad. Using a folding motion from bottom of bowl to avoid breaking beans, mix just until evenly distributed. Serve right away if you like, but flavor will increase if left at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerated for several hours. Cover bowl if refrigerating overnight.
To serve salad in tomato cups, cut a thick slice off top of tomatoes. Scoop out insides, leaving at least a ¼-inch (0.5-cm) shell. If not filling right away, invert onto a plate lined with paper towels. If tomatoes are soft, refrigerate. Just before serving, fill each cup with bean salad.