You can use canned black beans for this (you can even use frozen corn), but the salad is best with beans that have been cooked, with good spices, until tender but not mushy.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　4 ears corn, husked and stripped of their kernels

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　1 garlic clove, minced

　　1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (page 431), at room temperature

　　1 ripe tomato, cored and diced, optional

　　1 teaspoon minced jalapeño or other small chile

　　2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

　　Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

　　

Step 1

Put the oil in a large nonstick skillet and turn the heat to high. Add the corn, along with a large pinch of salt and some pepper, and cook, shaking the pan or stirring occasionally, until the corn is lightly charred, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, stirring.

　　

Step 2

Combine the corn with all the remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve or cover and refrigerate for up to a couple of hours, then bring back to room temperature before serving. than that, salads that can serve as light main courses or even not-so-light ones. Not surprisingly, many contain fish, chicken, or meat.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.