May 16, 2013

Corn, Red Pepper & Black Bean Salad with Cilantro Lime Chimichurri

A good bowl of fresh salad is always welcomed whole-heatedly in our family. Nutritious and quite easy to prepare, they will fill you up for sure, but not with guilt. This particular salad recipe is one of my favorites, especially while entertaining and it has proven itself as a crowd pleaser, being a colorful and pretty addition to the dinner table. I usually rely on fresh corn especially when it is in season, else you can use frozen corn.

Chimichurri Dressing

Chimmichuri dressing or sauce has its origins in Argentina and is usually made of Parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and vinegar. This particular recipe variation calls for Cilantro and Lime Juice and it seemed to pair ever so perfectly with the Delmonico steaks we cooked this past weekend!


As mentioned in my previous post, on the Broccoli Rabe with coconut and lentils, our recent cruise vacation to Cozumel was the very first time we tried snorkeling in the open seas. We were informed that there would lifeguards posted on the beach but no training and that we were to swim at our own risk. Well, being the go-getter family that we were :), it did add to the excitement as well as the butterflies lurching in our bellies but we were so glad we took the risk. It was simply one of the best ever experiences we have ever had. We actually rented equipment for our 3 year old daughter too but apparently she was too young and had to stay on the shore, taking simple pleasure in wetting her feet in the water.


My husband and I decided to take turns venturing out into sea and I was even able to talk him into going first. Seeing him float away and have a nice time, gave me the confidence as well and we ended up spending about 3 hours swimming around, enjoying the sights of the coral reef and the aquatic splendor. I am not sure we were doing the right things out there but an elderly couple swimming nearby was gracious to lend us some wisdom and tips, which seemed to more than get the job done. The key was to stay relaxed and breathe calmly making the whole experience seem like swimming around in an aquarium with so many vivid colored fish and beautiful Coral all around you. My little girl was equally excited by seeing the school of Nemos that were swimming up to her. She really seemed poised to jump into see but the crazy fear of sharks kept her at bay.


It was just so beautiful and peaceful, to surrender yourself to the gentle waves and swim with the gentle fish. The flora and fauna in the deep blue was just so captivating that you didn't want the experience to ever end. This vacation was definitely relaxing and the most satisfying adventure we had, by far; next , I am hoping to try a little scuba diving someday !! To all those folks who haven't done snorkeling yet - you should try it once and I am sure you will be hooked, like me ;)



Serves 4
Ingredients
1 Big - Red Bell Pepper, chopped
2 - ears of corn, husked
1 Can (15.5oz) - Cooked Black Bean, rinsed
Chimichurri Dressing/Sauce
1/2 Cup - Cilantro, chopped
1/4 Cup - Fresh Lime Juice
1/4 Tsp - Oregano (I used dry)
1 small clove - Garlic (optional)
1 Tablespoon - Extra virgin olive oil (add more if desired)
Salt to taste
1/4 Tsp - Pepper

Directions
  • Steam the corn for 5 minutes 
  • When the corn is cooled, cut the kernels off the cob
  • Toss the corn kernels in a large bowl with the bell pepper and black beans.
  • For the Chimichurri dressing take a blender and add cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic, oregano and pulse until all the ingredients blend together.
  • Just before serving, add the Chimichurri dressing and toss

Notes and Tips
  • Add the dressing just before serving the salad.
  • You can use Parsley in place of Cilantro and Vinegar in place of lime juice
  • You can serve the salad on cleaned corn husk like I did - Definitely prettier than disposable plates!
  • Use you imagination and get creative and substitute black beans with any other beans like kidney beans, pinto beans etc..

19 comments :

  1. Your sea experience sounds so fun! It has been years since i do scuba or snorkelling- pre- child days, and how i miss it! This mexican theme dish is also gorgeous:-)

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  2. def bookmarking this to try at one of my parties...
    thats brave of you guys to go snorkelling without any training, adventurous is def the word :)
    We tried sea bed walking in Thailand and I had the worst ear ache ever under water that I was clinging on to the instructor...ignoring roshan.. who apparently wanted to make use of the opportunity irrespective of a suffering wife :)

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  3. Nice clicks Shema!!! The colorful salad surely will be a crowd pleaser.
    The cruise vacation itself is most relaxing and fun. When combined with snorkeling, I can imagine the fun. I am not really a water person, so when we went for cruise we stayed on the lagoon where there was shallow waters...it was awesome, but there were lot of adventurous people with us who were swimming with stingrays and para sailing :).

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  4. Wow what a Lovely clicks and yummy dish

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  5. Scrumptious! What a combination of great flavors. I love that chimichurri dressing.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  6. I was about to make the chimichuri sauce when I stumble upon your blog. I was wondering whether we can use dried oregano or not as in most places it is fresh oregano only. Now after seeing yours I am all convinced to give it a shot. By the way Loved your sauce photograph. It is simply STUNNING.

    Sukanya

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  7. Last week I tried Chimichurri sauce for the first time and my family all loved it!! Well, it wasn't homemade (in fact we had steaks from Trader Joe's and sauce came with it), so I was so excited to see how it's made when I saw your post title. I have everything in the fridge. I'm going to try the sauce again for some chicken or beef tonight. Thank you - perfect timing! I love the salad with the sauce. Perfect summer dish!

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  8. Thanks for stopping by Shema, Love the pictures.

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  9. The first time I snorkeled was at the Great Barrier Reef. I kept saying, "no, it's too cold" as it was winter til finally my brother who was visiting with us from California said, "Maureen, you're going in if I have to toss you off the boat."

    OMG what a fantastic, gorgeous world under water. :) We'd rented the cruiser for a week and I went in every single day.

    I love your salad. I was at the Noosa Food and Wine Festival here in Australia last weekend and the winning critics food tent was Louisiana Crab Cakes with a corn salsa that looked a lot like yours and some avocado mayo.

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  10. I've always heard of chimmichuri sauce, never knew how it tasted or looked like..now I know :-P

    N oh yeah...Snorkelling is simply awesome...For our honeymoon we went to Mauritius and snorkeled a lot...and gulped a bit of water too as practicing to blow air out from mouth using snorkeling tube needs some practice :-)

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  11. Oh ur holiday sounds amazing...I have never done snorkelling..I don't even know swimming..but would love to so such adventurous things..and ur pics are amazing..I loved ur sec pic with kayaru..superb :)

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  12. Snorkeling is so much fun, I'm glad to hear your family had such a great holiday. This salad would be very welcomed on my table. I love all the ingredients and the Chimichurri sounds like a great pairing. Yum!:)

    P.S.
    Thank you for leaving such a sweet comment on my blog. It's nice to meet you and your photography is lovely.:)

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  13. Photography is exquisite! Second photo is my favorite. Good job!!

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  14. gorgeous pictures, love the corn on the dark surface

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  15. delightful and gorgeous... simply super pics and the dishes look equally super! glad to come across ur webpage!

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  16. This is such a beautiful and refreshing salad. I usually make a grilled corned version without the beans. I gotta give this one a try.

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First of all thanks a lot for stopping by my space. I would be very happy to hear from you and would love to see your comments and feedback :)
Thanks a bunch,
Shema

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