One of my ongoing goals is to create salads that are fun and low on actual vegetables.
I prefer salads with as few vegetables as possible — that’s what makes me likely to eat them. Call it a personal preference. The important part is the flavor and the texture, not how many leaves are involved.
Recently I’ve been deep into a Mexican/Tex‑Mex phase — when am I not? I made this salad a few weeks ago after getting a little carried away with cornbread (four batches in three days). I needed a way to use up the extra cornbread besides eating it straight. I love all kinds of panzanella salads, so I put one together with a Tex‑Mex twist: cornbread croutons, black beans, corn salsa and a bright chile‑lime vinaigrette. Yes, it still has bread and tomatoes — and that’s the point.
I tossed this together mostly from leftovers: cornbread cubes, a copycat chipotle corn salsa I had on hand, black beans and more of the chile‑lime vinaigrette I used on a flank steak salad recently. It was one of those dishes born from necessity, but it turned out to be a favorite.
There was very little planning — mostly salvaging ingredients that were close to the end of their fridge lives — but the flavors all came together beautifully. And yes, I did include a few lettuce leaves with my cornbread croutons.
Black Bean + Cornbread Panzanella Salad
Yield:
2
to 4
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Ingredients
-
1
batch of cornbread
cut into cubes -
12
ounces
baby romaine lettuce -
1
cup
black beans -
1
cup
copycat chipotle corn salsa -
1
avocado,
cubed -
1
pint
grape tomatoes,
halved - salt + pepper
Chile Lime Vinaigrette
-
2
tablespoons
olive oil -
1
tablespoon
rice vinegar -
1/2
tablespoon
red pepper or chile oil -
2
teaspoons
honey - the juice of 2 limes
- a pinch of salt + pepper
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spread the cornbread cubes on a baking sheet and bake 6–7 minutes. Toss, then bake an additional 6–8 minutes, until the cubes are golden and crisp. Set aside.
-
While the cornbread toasts, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, avocado, corn salsa and cilantro in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Add the cornbread croutons and toss again. Serve with the chile‑lime vinaigrette.
Chile Lime Vinaigrette
-
Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar, shaker bottle or bowl and shake or whisk until well combined.
Salad
American
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Final note: margaritas make everything better — consider making them to go with this salad.