Tropical Black Bean Salad

Make this salad to accompany fish, chicken, pasta or even simply tortilla chips. The tropical fruit combination might help you forget about the winter weather for a while.

1 540 mL (19 oz) can black beans, drained 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined and finely chopped
1 small ripe papaya, seeded, peeled and diced
1 ripe mango, seeded, peeled and diced
125 mL chopped fresh cilantro ½ cup
45 mL Western Classics balsamic vinegar 3 Tbsp
15 mL lime juice 1 Tbsp
15 mL cooking sherry 1 Tbsp
30 mL Western Classics extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp
salt and pepper to taste
Western Family tortilla chips, if desired

1. Drain and rinse beans. In a large bowl, combine beans with prepared vegetables, fruits and cilantro.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lime juice, sherry, oil, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad. Toss to mix well; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

3. To allow flavour to mellow, chill salad for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

4. Serve in a bowl garnished with taco chips.

Makes 8 servings

Nutritional analysis per serving:
Calories 161, Protein 6 g, Carbohydrate 27 g, Fat 4 g