Black Bean and Mango Salad with Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette

In answer to your question about summer foods, Liz, I love doing bright colorful summer salads as the main dish. Here is one we tried this week and really liked:

from the cookbook, "Getting Thin and Loving Food" by Kathleen Daelemans

Black Bean and Mango Salad with Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette
Serves 4

For the Vinaigrette
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Coarse-grained salt and cracked black pepper
1 cup loosely packed, coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

For the Salad
1 head leafy green lettuce, coarsely chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
4 carrots, peeled and julienned or thinly sliced
1/2 large red onion, thinly slice
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 small beets, peeled, and julienned or cut into thin strips
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

To make the vinaigrette:
In a large salad bowl, whisk together lime juice, vinegar, honey jalapeno and cumin until smooth. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Season with alt and pepper. Stir in cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To make the salad:
Add lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, onion, mango, beets and beans to bowl with dressing. Toss to coat evenly and serve.

*the red onion, carrots and beets can be sliced on a v-slicer or a mandoline. Megan's note: I recommend this--it makes them seem more restaurant quality than simply grating them.
**To morph this into a sauteed shrimp salad, place 12 to 15 large peeled and deveined shrimp (about 3/4 pound) in a medium bowl. Pour about half of the lime-cumin vinaigrette over the shrimp. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes. In a saute' pan over high heat, toss shrimp with salt and pepper for 2 to 3 minutes or until the tails turn bright pink. Serve over the salad and drizzle on remaining lime-cumin vinaigrette. You could also add some cooked or deli turkey or chicken to this salad for a protein component.