Black Bean Salad with Sautéed Kale
Black bean salad:
1 lb bag of dried black beans
1 small red onion, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1/4 c fresh cilantro, finely chopped
4-6 limes
1/4 c plus extra virgin olive oil
Salt; either kosher or sea salt
Sautéed Kale:
2 bunches of Kale
1/4 c – 1/3 c Extra virgin olive oil for sauteing
Salt either kosher or sea salt, to taste
In a large pot, soak the beans in cold water for at least 8 hours (preferably over night). I usually put them in a pot with cold water from the night before and then cook them the next day when ever I’m ready to. Soaking the beans is important because they cook faster and more evenly this way. They will double or even triple their size so make sure they’re fully covered with water and they’re in a large enough pot.
Drain and add fresh water to the beans and boil them in plain water; NO SALT. Salt makes beans take forever to cook. Boil them for about 30-40 minutes. Be sure to taste them to be certain if they’re fully cooked.
While the beans are cooking, dice all the vegetables (onions, red bell, cilantro) for the bean salad and place in a large mixing bowl.
Once the beans are fully cooked, drain and rinse them with cold water and allow them to cool. Add them to the vegetables.
Juice the limes and mix into the black bean salad. You will need about 1/3 of a cup of lime juice.
Season with kosher or sea salt. The reason I use kosher or sea salt, especially in salads is very simple, because it’s salty. Table salts have additives that interact with the food; and while table salt is a better option for baking, kosher and sea salt are the two heavy weights in cooking.
Now we’ll begin preparing the kale. Wash and roughly chop the kale.
Place the wet kale in a large pot. Remember, the kale will shrink in size, so it’s ok to overly stuff the pot with the raw kale. Add the extra virgin olive oil and saute.
Cover for 5 minutes and then uncover and mix. Saute until the kale is wilted and any extra fluid evaporated.
Season the kale with kosher or sea salt.
Serve the black beans and the kale together. The contrast of the cold beans and warm kale is delicious and the lime juice from the bean salad adds extra flavor to the kale. YUM! YUM! YUM!
ENJOY!!