CUCUMBER #AND #BLACK #BEAN #SALAD

If you want one extra recent summertime salad for this Memorial Day weekend, I’ve got ya! This pale and recent Cucumber and Black Bean Salad is the right facet for all of your summer time grilling, but in addition works vast as a taco topper, base for a bowl meal, and even a chunky salsa for chip dippin’. The freshness of the cucumber balances the earthy black beans, and the tangy do-it-yourself vinaigrette retains everything pale and fresh!

INGREDIENTS 1 15 oz. can black beans ($0.49) 1 cucumber ($1.29) 1/3 cup finely diced red onion (about 1/4 onion) ($0.11) 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed ($0.20) 2 Tbsp crumbled feta (optional)* ($0.55) 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32) 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.12) 1/2 tsp floor cumin ($0.05) 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02) 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02) freshly cracked pepper ($0.03) INSTRUCTIONS Soak the red onions in ice water for about 5 minutes to melt their flavor. Rinse and drain the black beans. Allow them to empty nicely whereas you chop the relaxation of the vegetables. Finely cube the cucumber to items concerning the similar measurement because the black beans. Finely cube the red onion, and roughly chop the cilantro. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and a few freshly cracked pepper (about 15 cranks of a pepper mill). Add the black beans, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, and feta to a enormous bowl. Pour the dressing over top, then fold the ingredients to combine. Allow the salad to sit for 10 minutes to marinate. Serve immediately, or refrigerate as much as 4-5 days. NOTES *Skip the feta to make this salad vegan! While the feta provides a good touch, the salad is nonetheless tremendous delish without.

KEEP IT SIMPLE OR SPRUCE IT UP
You understand I love to preserve my foods as easy as possible, but this salad is bendy sufficient to deal with additions, within the event you occur to have them on hand. Might as nicely burn up any lingering ingredients on your fridge, right? Here are a few different ingredients that could pass vast on this Cucumber and Black Bean Salad:

• Corn kernels
• Avocado
• Diced red bell pepper (fresh or roasted)
• Diced Green bell pepper
• Jalapeño
• Diced tomato
• Cotija cheese
• Pineapple

“I HATE CILANTRO!”
I pay attention ya. You got dealt the cilantro-hating genetic hand, but this Cucumber and Black Bean Salad nonetheless appears to be like so delicious! Luckily, this salad is certainly one of the few cases the place I assume parsley could work both as well. Parsley is going vast with cucumber, so it could be simply as house right the following because the cilantro. We all win!

HOW TO SERVE CUCUMBER AND BLACK BEAN SALAD
This is one other vast “refrigerator salad” that you'll be able to preserve accessible and upload to simply about any meal you consume during the week. And no longer basically does it dangle up well, the taste will get higher because it marinates within the fridge.

Its seen use is as a facet dish, and it could pass quite nicely with grilled meat. I’ve also been utilizing it as a base for bowl foods (add an egg and a spoonful or NULL of salsa verde), it's spooned onto tacos as a variety of chunky salsa or relish, otherwise you'll be able to scoop it up with chips for a recent vegetable-y dip!

Close up of Cucumber and Black Bean Salad on a spoon with the bowl within the background
 Cucumber and Black Bean Salad in a bowl with a black spoon

CUCUMBER AND BLACK BEAN SALAD
This pale and recent cucumber and black bean salad is the right summer time facet dish. It is refrigerator strong so make it as soon as and snack on all of it week!