Black Bean, Avocado & Cilantro Salsa with Tangerine Balsamic Dressing

I love love love avocado and citrus flavors. I remember when I was younger and it was popular to make fat out to be the bad guy. I would like to think we have come a long way since those dark days. Not only is fat (the good fat mind you) essential to a well balanced diet but it is downright healthy for you. Take the much maligned avocado. By itself it might not be impressive but added to the right blend of ingredients, it adds a buttery smoothness that you can’t get from other things. This recipe is an example of that.

The basis for this recipe was first brought to my attention by my daughter who, for most of her life has insisted that she didn’t like avocado nor would she ever. I kept insisting that she did like avocado, she just didn’t know it yet. She finally admitted I was right, score one for mom! This is a bit altered from the original recipe that she brought home from Spanish class and I think it’s a winner. It’s easy, fresh and full of good things. You can really play with this too according to your likes and dislikes but make sure to add an equal amount of olive oil to vinegar. That’s the only thing I ask.

To start, whisk together the following and put aside:

• The juice of three limes
• 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 teaspoons citrus infused Balsamic Vinegar (We used tangerine)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil or Avocado Oil (which we prefer)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

Add the following to a medium size bowl:

• 1 can Black beans (preferably organic) drained and rinsed well
• 3/4 cup corn kernels (from a can is fine)
• 2-3 Roma Tomatoes diced (remove as much of the seeds as you can)
• 2 Tablespoon finely diced (or minced) red onion
• 1 small handful of cilantro chopped (use this according to your taste, if you are not sure, start with less since you can always add more)
• 1 1/2 avocado, diced

Now all that is left to do is add the dressing you made first to the ingredients in your bowl, toss lightly and enjoy!

Notes:
1. while we used a tangerine balsamic for a few teaspoons of the dressing, you can also just use more red wine balsamic if you don’t have any of the citrus infused. Just keep in mind, equal parts oil to equal parts vinegar.
2. If you like things a bit more spicy, boost the cayenne up to 1 teaspoon. I cut back because I don’t like things spicy.
3. We usually munch these with corn chips (scoops work particularly well) but it also is a great topping for both fish and rice.
4. As far as I am concerned, the only avocado worth eating are the small Hass avocados and that is what I used here. So if you are using those large ones typically found down south, cut back to 1/2 an avocado since those are huge!

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