This side dish, with Latin seasonings, is a great sidekick for tacos, enchiladas, or anything grilled. I served these with some of Skinnytaste’s Grilled Cilantro Lime Shrimp Kabobs (recipe coming soon). The dinner was quick, easy, and delicious – which means it’s perfect for the two of us! The fresh CSA tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro made this dish absolutely spectacular.

Fiesta Bean Salad

adapted from Skinnytaste

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• a dash of salt
• 1 (15-oz) can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/4 red onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 medium avocado, diced

1. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, lime juice, oil, cumin, crushed red pepper, and salt. Set aside; this is your dressing.
2. In a large bowl, toss the beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. When you are ready to add the salad – add the avocado & dressing; mix to combine.
   

   Fiesta Bean Salad & some amazing shrimp

I assembled most of this salad in the morning before I headed out to band camp for the day – when I got home, I mixed up the dressing. Once the shrimp were finished cooking, I added it to the salad, along with the avocado.

If you are a person that really loves vinegar, you can also add some jalapeno flavored vinegar to this – it gives it just a little bit of heat with a bit more acidity and tang, that blends perfectly with the lime juice.  This dish could go with absolutely anything with a Latin flavor to it; something tells me that this will make an appearance on our table another time this summer.

We both agreed that this salad was great!  It made quite a bit of salad, so much so that Mike was able to take some for lunch the next day. Perfect counterpoint to anything grilled – as you see in the picture and with my next post!