Black Bean Salad

My friend D introduced this to me back when we were teenagers - I remember going to one of her family picnics and having this delicious salad. Though now M has just reminded me that D got the recipe from M's mom. Who probably got it from some "official" recipe. ANYWAY. Over the years, I think my recipe has strayed from the original one (I believe it involved Ro-Tel, which is a canned tomato and green chile mix which is primarily available in southern states) but I still love it.

Black Bean Salad

250g dried black beans or two 400g cans of black beans

3 small onions, diced

1 tsp olive oil

6 small tomatoes, diced

250g sweetcorn (I use frozen)

2 ripe avocados, diced

small bunch of coriander, finely chopped

lime juice

salt and pepper

If you're using the dried black beans, cook them using the 90-minute no-soak cooking method for beans. If using cans, drain and rinse well.

Line baking sheet with tinfoil. Put sweetcorn on baking sheet in a thin layer and grill until corn is roasted and brown (usually around 10 minutes from frozen).

Cook onions in olive oil over medium heat until softened.

Mix beans, roasted sweetcorn, onions, diced tomatoes, diced avocados and chopped coriander in a large bowl. Add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.