Black Bean Salad

Summer is synonymous with barbecues. Grilled meats and seafood are paired with a plethora of side dishes; many of them are some type of salad. However, many of them are mayonnaise-based and therefore can't be kept out lest you want to run the risk of giving your guests food poisoning. Here is a ridiculously healthy, tasty, and best of all, mayonnaise-free, salad featuring a lot of varied ingredients that all get pulled together to form a slightly piquant sensation that pairs well with any kind of barbecued food. This requires a lot of prep work but when the compliments start rolling in, it will all be worth it.

Black Bean Salad

2 (15 oz.) cans no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz.) can no salt added kernel corn, drained

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

¼ cup diced red onion

¼ cup diced scallions

¼ cup diced pineapple

1 tbsp. chopped cilantro leaves

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

4 tbsp. sherry vinegar (can also use red wine vinegar)

Juice of half a lime

3 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. ground cumin

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate overnight to let all the flavors meld fully. If that much time isn't available, refrigerate for at least an hour.

Serves 6 - 8

NOTE:  1 tbsp. of salt might seem like a lot, but keep in mind that if you use no salt added beans and corn, the full amount of salt will be needed. If you use 'regular' black beans and corn, start off the salt at 1 tsp. and keep adding it to taste, up to 1 tbsp. This recipe can also be easily doubled, tripled and so on.