I often feel like there are certain foods that were simply made to go together. On such example is avocado and black beans. About a month ago, I was eating avocado with black beans and started thinking about this and my mind quickly wandered to other examples of seemingly perfect food pairings and immediately thought of mango and avocado. Then I realized that I also feel this way about corn and black beans – they were destined to be together. Thinking of corn, I soon realized that I also love how corn and avocado go together. And then I thought– wait! Why don’t you just put them all together in a simple summer salad! So that’s what I did and the results are pretty amazing but don’t take my word for it. The proof (to me) is that even Michael, who is not a fan of quinoa, really likes this summer salad.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 large mangoes, sliced into 1/2″ cubes
2 Haas avocados, sliced into 1/2″ cubes
2 cups corn kernels
15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large lime, juiced
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped

Rinse quinoa and put into a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of vegetable broth, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir to mix, cover, reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes, or until all the broth is absorbed. Set aside and let it come down to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients to the cooled quinoa and adjust seasonings to taste.

Garnish with whole mint leaves and serve at room temperature or chilled.