A Southern Grace: beaucoup* beans

June 12, 2009

beaucoup* beans

Yum

*and with that, I exhaust my knowledge of the French language...


The only thing I enjoy more than beans is spicy beans, and that's what I recently made for our office potluck.

I always like to take something I know I'll enjoy just in case everything else being offered can also be found on a supermarket shelf (which is sadly what happens more often than not).

This recipe from Susan of Food Blogga caught my eye when she posted it almost a year ago, and I finally got around to trying it myself. With a few personalizing tweaks, it was everything I hoped it would be. I used my homemade barbecue sauce and I added waaaaay more cilantro, tomatoes, and some jalapenos for extra heat. The result is a bright, fresh, filling, and fiery mix of flavors and textures, and I loved it.

Barbecue Bean Salad
(adapted from this recipe)

3 ears sweet corn, kernels removed from the cob
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can red kidney beans, rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can chick peas, rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with chiles, drained
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup
barbecue sauce

Saute the corn until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, and add to a large bowl. Add the green and jalapeno peppers, rinsed beans, drained tomatoes, and barbecue sauce; stir until well combined. Gently stir in the cilantro. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled, though it tastes better if it's allowed to marinate for at least a couple of hours.

47 comments:

Julia said...

My guess is that your homemade BBQ sauce is what made it SO tasty. Hope the office folk enjoyed it!

Chef Jeena said...

Looks real tasty Grace I love spicy beans too yum.

Pamela said...

These beans look delicious. I love a good home made bean salad, and this one has a fantastic, spicy twist to it!

lisaiscooking said...

I love all the colors, and the mix sounds delicious! I have (a whole lot of) black beans soaking now, so many bean dishes will be in my near future, and this should be one of them.

Christo Gonzales said...

tres bien - and the colorfulness is the lure...

OhioMom said...

I have to say the array of colors caught my attention first, and the BBQ sauce is a unique difference for bean salad .. definitely a summer treat I will try!

Culinary Wannabe said...

This is so much more appealing to me than the traditional baked beans. Love the colors. And I'm sure everyone appreciated your homemade contribution - even those who bought the premade goodies. :)

Melleah said...

Those look really good. I'll definitely have to give these a try- I love pickled jalapenos!

kat said...

Oh what a great summer side dish!

Jessica@FoodMayhem said...

MMM beans! Don't you hate when everyone else at a potluck just buys the food they bring.

Gloria Baker said...

Look so yummy Grace!! xxGloria

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Mmm that looks so good and I have the sneaking suspicion that this is good for me? Sold!

LilSis said...

Delicioso! What a great side dish to take to a potluck! I'll have to take this to my next neighborhood barbeque.

Half Baked said...

I love a good bean salad and this sounds wonderful. I like the spicy kick...yummm:)

Susan @ SGCC said...

Love this! It looks beautiful and is a perfect (and healthy) Summer side dish.

Maria said...

What a great salad for summer and it's healthy too! Love it!

Aleta said...

This looks delicious. And definitely something Greg could have, considering he has diabetes. Thanks for that recipe you sent, by the way - oh YUM! Do you have any other diabetic friendly recipes to share?

eatme_delicious said...

Ooo this sounds good and I don't even love beans! I'm imagining scooping it up with corn chips mmm.

Lyndas recipe box said...

Grace, these beans sound perfect with the addition of your BBQ sauce! Major YUM! I imagine your fellow workers really enjoyed a homemade dish!

Jackie @PhamFatale.com said...

As a French gal, you did right. There are beaucoup de beans and it's very délicieux!

The Blonde Duck said...

If I ever come to NY, I'm going to come over and gobble up everything on this blog.

Leslie said...

ohhhhh spicy spicy!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Mmmm, the kids and I love beans. My love for them is new found the kids have been fans from the get go.
~ingrid

Unknown said...

mmm beans.:) I'm loving it already.

Penny said...

Sounds like a great dish to take to work. I used to do that too. Always made me feel good when my dish disappeared first.

kimberleyblue said...

j'aime les haricots!

now you can add more to your french knowledge. :)

this sounds awesome, and such a pretty dish too.

pam said...

Hey we both know the same amount of French, imagine that!

I am bookmarking this. I will of course make no tweaks. I am pretty much tweakless.

Rebeca said...

Mmm, I love spicy and all three of those beans are in my top 5 lol...

omg have you tried raw corn kernels though? they're fab.

Laura said...

Mmmm this looks wonderful, I love beans. I made a sweet potato hash tonight with black beans and was so happy with how the beans came out (Rancho Gordo), I was thinking I need more bean dishes. This could be it!

foodhoe said...

It's always disappointing when people bring in the vat food from the big chain grocery store for a potluck... Your spicy bean salad looks delicious!

Lori said...

As one fellow bean lover to another, all I have to say is beaucoup yum!

Susan has a lot of lovely recipes!

Donna-FFW said...

Homemade bbq sauce with these delicious beans, must have been wonderful

La Bella Cooks said...

I love a good bean dish, although I would leave out the cilantro, the rest sounds delicious! It's cool you take the time to make something tasty for your coworkers.

Barbara said...

Colorful, healthy and spicy. I bet you used your own BBQ sauce too. Hope everyone loved it at the office although anything you made would be gobbled up rapidement. (MY sparce French)

kellypea said...

Well you know I'm crazy over dishes like this and yes, yes, yes, on more cilantro. Adding the BBQ sauce is sheer genius. (I'd have to switch out the kidney beans tho -- they make my toes curl -- and I don't say that about too many things.) I could hunker down and eat the whole bowl.

Emily said...

Beans! Magical beans! They're so good for you and delicious. I bet everyone gobbled this up.

Robin said...

Very nice recipe you got here. I bet everyone loved it. This is so much better than regular three bean salad anyday!

Shelly said...

I love bean salad, and your version sounds awesome! It would be perfect for a barbeque.

Dewi said...

Bean salad is perfect for summer. It is very nutritious and nourishing. Yours look superb!

Pam said...

What a tasty and healthy salad - I love that it has a kick.

Sophie said...

I adoooore beans! I love making black bean salad, but I've never tried this combo. Lucky work people! :D

Hornsfan said...

Office potlucks are usually pretty hit or miss - I'd say you had quite a good dish though! Wish that was the type of stuff that showed up at my office's potlucks :)

Lisa said...

Good use of that barbecue sauce. Looks like a fantastic summer salad!

Peter M said...

Grace, I love everything about this dish: one of your few savory dishes, it's colourful, it's healthy, it's timely for BBQ/backyards, it's from another cool blogger (Susan) and there's BBQ sauce in it. A must try.

Paula said...

Oh yeah, this is my kind of beanie salad! Wow, I've never had anything like this! The heat from the peppers plus the bbq sauce really puts it over the top. Perfect timing for summer. Although, um, I don't know if I'm willing to share it once I make it. I might have to keep is allllll to myselfffff. :-)

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

What a great combination of beans. I'm a southerner also and I lived in the NE for a while and with my southern drawl, I definitely stuck out. Do you know the plural of y'all? It's all y'all.
Sam

Chef Fresco said...

A great way to finish off that remaining home-made BBQ sauce.