Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Salad

My friend Kurt is coming over tonight to eat dinner and watch the hockey game with me (our last dinner and hockey game together before he moves to Scottsdale on Wednesday...Boo Hoo!!!), and since it's warm outside and I was looking for something easy to make, I decided to make Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Salad from an old issue of Everyday Food magazine. It looked like a tastebud-friendly meal that both of us would enjoy, and since I had all of the ingredients on hand, it was a no-brainer to make it.

Since I actually (sort of) planned ahead for dinner tonight, last night I made Key Lime Pie with Coconut Graham Cracker Crust to have afterwards for dessert. (There are two reasons I chose to make a key lime pie. You'll have to wait for the next post.) I'll post a review of both recipes later tonight or tomorrow morning, but I just wanted to get a head start now and post the recipe for our main course (if that's what you want to call it).

Update (as promised): This salad is fantastic and very filling. Kurt's first words after his first bite was, "Damn, this is good." I guess that could sum up my reaction to it, too. I followed the recipe exactly as written. I did leave in the seeds from the jalapeno, and it added a nice kick. I also used a generous 1/2 teaspoon of cumin. I used a few pinches of sea salt and generously grinded fresh black pepper over the salad before tossing it one last time and serving. This recipe makes a LOT of food. (Kurt left tonight with a big plastic container of it, and I cannot wait to eat it again for lunch...and probably dinner...tomorrow.) This would be great to take along to a picnic or BBQ as a different kind of cold salad...you know, not the typical (boring) pasta salad and potato salad you see all the time.

Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Salad

Source: Everyday Food magazine - June 2005, p. 105

1 cup brown (or white) rice
1 cooked chicken (about 2 ½ pounds), shredded (about 4 cups)
1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
6 plum tomatoes, sliced*
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno chile, minced (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)
¼ cup white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cook rice according to package instructions. Spread on a baking sheet; refrigerate until cool.

Place cooled rice in a large bowl; add chicken, beans, tomatoes, scallions, jalapeno, vinegar, oil, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered, up to 1 day.

*How to slice plum tomatoes:
Quarter tomatoes lengthwise. Lay quarters skin side down, and slice out seeds. Slice flesh crosswise about ¼ inch thick.

In serving bowl (without flash):

 
















Scooped out into individual bowl (with flash):