Avocado Salad

We were so happy to have found this recipe just in time for the spring and summer season.  The recipe is actually Ina Garten’s (the Food Network: Barefoot Contessa)…she calls it a Guacamole Salad…but we prefer to call it an Avocado Salad. Either way it’s really, really delicious.  This salad features fresh ingredients such as avocados, bell peppers, and tomatoes.  As we note below the recipe, we love to add cilantro for more flavoring.  This recipe is easy, fresh, and healthy.  This recipe is perfect for a light dinner or side dish.  Maybe you could bring it to your next cook out!

Serves 6 appetizer portions or 3-4 Entree Portions

Ingredients

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2-inch diced
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup small diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers, seeded (2 peppers)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and 1/2-inch diced

Directions

Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeno peppers, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss well.

Just before you’re ready to serve the salad, fold the avocados into the salad. Check the seasoning and serve at room temperature.

**Note: We added a handful of chopped cilantro. We also probably did not use quite as much Olive Oil as she suggests…we did not measure, we just estimated. We have also made this recipe using grape tomatoes and other times using fresh jersey tomatoes…we think this salad comes out much better using the local tomatoes…so if you have a farmers market with fresh tomatoes…use them!