LAYERED MEXICAN SALAD with BLACK BEAN RELISH & LIME VINAIGRETTE

A vinaigrette of lime juice and fresh cilantro tops the colorful layers of this supberb Mexican salad.

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
Black Bean Relish
1/2 cup frozen kernal corn, thawed
1 small avocado, sliced
Lime Vinaigrette

Layer lettuce, green pepper, 3/4 cup Black Bean Relish, and corn in a clear straight-sided bowl. Arrange remaining relish and avocado slices over top layer. Serve with Lime Vinaigrette. Yield: 4 to 6 servings

BLACK BEAN RELISH
1 (15oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 serrano chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped purple onion
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Cover and chill 1 hour.
Yield: 3 cups

LIME VINAIGRETTE

1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 small clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil

Process first 5 ingredients in a food processor. With processor running, pour oil through food chute in a slow, steady stream; process until blended.
Yield: 1/2 cup

"We have said how necessary it is that in the composure of a sallet, every plant should come in to bear its part, without being overpower'd by some herb of a stronger taste, so as to endanger the native sapor and virtue of the rest; but fall into their places, like the notes in music, in which there should be nothing harsh or grating: And though admitting some discords (to distinguish and illustrate the rest) striking in all the more sprightly, and sometimes gentler notes, reconcile all dissonances, and melt them into an agreeable composition."~John Evelyn, Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets (1699)