I am known as a collector of cookbooks. While I try to resist and even glean my collection from time to time, I find myself constantly adding new volumes. On a visit, many years ago, my friends wanted to cook a meal as a thank you for hosting them in my home. They headed to my vast collection and selected random recipes that they wanted to make. This recipe for Guacamole Salad comes from Ina Garten’s Barefoot at Home. It has since become a regular part of my repertoire.

The flavors of guacamole in a salad

This recipe pulls together the flavors of guacamole and serves it up as a colorful, chunky salad. It’s dressed with a mildly spicy, lime vinaigrette. With the addition of the black beans, it works well as a meal with a few corn chips on the side. Or you could serve it as a side as part of a Tex-Mex dinner.

A few optional additions

The original recipe is great but here are some other ingredients I sometimes add:

• If you like cilantro, a handful chopped adds a great herby freshness.
• A sprinkling of Tajin before serving bumps up the citrus and adds a bit more spiciness.
• A cup of defrosted frozen corn bumps up the Tex-Mex flavor. If you can find fire-roasted corn, even better.

Guacamole Salad

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• Author: Ina Garten
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x

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Description

This chunky salad makes a great lunch served with tortilla chips or serve it as part of a Tex-Mex meal.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the dressing

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

For the salad

1-pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 yellow, red, or orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch diced

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup small diced red onion

2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers, seeds and membrane removed (about 2 peppers)

2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and 1/2-inch diced

For garnish

1–2 teaspoon Tajin, optional

1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro, optional

2 cups tortilla chips, optional

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Instructions

For the dressing

1. Whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper.
2. Set aside.

To assemble the salad

1. In a large bowl, toss together the tomatoes, bell pepper, black beans, red onion, and jalapeno peppers.
2. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well.
3. Just before serving fold in the avocados. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
4. As optional garnish, sprinkle with Tajin and chopped cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Category: salad, starter
• Cuisine: Mexican-American

Nutrition

• Calories: 281.29
• Sugar: 4.31 g.
• Sodium: 670.76 mg.
• Fat: 19.36 g.
• Saturated Fat: 2.75 g.
• Carbohydrates: 24.44 g.
• Fiber: 11.28 g.
• Protein: 6.82 g.
• Cholesterol: 0 g.

Keywords: avocado, black beans