BEETNIK RECIPES: vegetarian cooking

Sorry, sometimes I just can’t pass up a good (or bad) pun!

This black bean and roasted corn relish will help get you through those meat-centric summer BBQs! Use it to spice up your veggie burger, bring it as a healthy and flavorful side salad or just serve it with some corn chips.

Ingredients:

•extra virgin olive oil
•28 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
•2 tsp garlic powder
•2 Tbs ground cumin
•cayenne pepper (to taste)
•2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
•1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
•juice of 1 lime
•2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
•salt
•ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat about 1 Tbs of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add beans, garlic powder, 1 Tbs of cumin and cayenne pepper to taste (I use about 1/2 tsp). Heat until thoroughly warmed and beans just start to soften (about 5 minutes). Chill.
3. Heat about 2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add thawed corn and remaining cumin. Heat until cooked thoroughly and some edges begin to turn dark. Chill.
4. After beans and corn have thoroughly chilled (about 30-45 minutes), combine together and add garlic, onion, pepper, lime juice and vinegar. Season with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
5. Gently mix, seal and chill for at least 45 minutes.

Recommended Serving Instructions:

Serve as a light side dish to any meal, with chips as a party dip, or over greens as a summery salad (no dressing needed). But my favorite use of this is to spruce up those veggie burger/fake chicken sandwiches you are left eating at summer BBQs! This one has avocado, a chik patty, monterey jack cheese, the black bean and roasted corn relish and baby spinach.

Tips:

•If you want your corn a little drier and crunchier, thoroughly squeeze kernels in a fine strainer or paper towel to remove some moisture before cooking.
•I use frozen organic sweet yellow corn for this dish. However, feel free to take this out to the grill! Just by fresh corn, season with the same seasonings and roast over a grill. After it is slightly charred, remove from the grill and chill fully. Once chilled, slice kernels off of cob.
•Make sure you thoroughly chill the beans before mixing with the other ingredients – particularly if you maybe overcooked them some. This will ensure they better keep their shape and you can avoid having a mushy (good-tasting) mess!