Black Bean and Jicama Salad

This colourful salad boasts a wealth of textures and tastes, from juicy oranges to crunchy jicama. The dressing’s unusual spice mix adds further intrigue that will delight guests and family members alike.

4 cups (1 L) green salad mix
2 navel oranges, peeled and diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup (250 mL) canned black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup (180 mL) jicama, peeled and diced
1 medium red pepper, deseeded and chopped 
3 Tbsp (45 mL) roasted sunflower seeds

Dressing

1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp (30 mL) white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cumin
1/4 tsp (1 mL) dried oregano
1/4 tsp (1 mL) sea salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground black pepper

In large mixing bowl, add well-washed and dried salad greens. Add oranges, onion, beans, jicama, and red pepper. Mix well and divide salad into 4 equal servings on salad plates. Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top of each salad.

In separate bowl, mix all salad dressing ingredients and whisk well. Pour an equal amount of dressing on each salad and serve.

Serves 4.

Pre-soaking tips

Dried beans need to be cleaned and pre-soaked before you can enjoy them in your favourite recipes. This helps to break down the complex sugars that can make legumes difficult to digest and also reduces their overall cooking time. In addition, it helps the beans cook evenly without splitting.

While lentils do not need to be pre-soaked, you may find they produce less gas when given the treatment. Here are two basic methods for pre-soaking legumes.

Traditional method

Cover beans with cold, fresh filtered water and soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse before cooking.

Quick method

Place beans in large pot and completely cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove pot from the heat, cover, and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse, add to your recipe, and cook as instructed.

Note: do not add salt or anything acidic to the soaking water as this will halt the “softening” process. Use fresh, filtered, cool water only.

Each serving contains: 289 calories; 7 g protein; 18 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 28 g total carbohydrates (4 g sugars, 7 g fibre); 162 mg sodium

source: "Legume Love", alive #388, February 2015