Quinoa and Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad By Chelsea Didinger

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 and 1/2 cups cooked black beans, or 1 15-oz. can of black beans
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1/2 bell pepper, color of your choice
• 2-3 green onions, to taste
• Pickled jalapeños (we like tamed jalapeños), to taste (optional)
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, to taste (optional for cilantro haters)
• 1/2 cup corn (canned corn works well – use fire-roasted canned or frozen corn for extra flavor)
• 2 limes, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)
• Salt, to taste
• Optional additions: hot sauce, cheese, avocado

Method:

1. If you don’t have cooked quinoa and black beans on hand, go ahead and cook them, or use canned black beans and pre-cooked quinoa. If using canned black beans, drain and rinse, if desired. (With canned beans, rinsing has been shown to help reduce the sodium level.) This salad is not really meant to be served hot (although you of course can try it that way if you would like!), so working with refrigerated or room temp quinoa and beans works well. Put the quinoa and black beans into a large bowl.

2. Now it’s decision making time. Roasted sweet potatoes are truly incredible, and you are more than welcome to cube and roast yours. It will make this salad even better. But I’ll be honest with you – I’m usually too lazy and/or hungry to wait that long. So, I often just rinse, cube, and microwave my sweet potato to cook it. If you want to try this approach, cube the sweet potato to your desired bite size for this salad and then place in a microwave-safe bowl with a little splash of water. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes at a time, stirring in between and checking for doneness until cooked through. After the sweet potato is cooked – via roasting, microwaving, or another method of your choice – add it to the bean + quinoa mixture.

3. Chop up the bell pepper, slice the green onions, dice the jalapeños, and roughly chop the cilantro. Make the ingredients the size that you prefer in a salad. Add to the bowl.

4. Drain corn, or defrost if using frozen. Fire-roasted corn is delightful in this, if it is easy for you to find. Add the corn to the bowl and stir to mix ingredients.

5. Squeeze the fresh lime over the salad, and add the spices: smoked paprika, cumin, and chili powder. Stir to evenly coat.

6. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed, adding any optional additions of your choice.