This bean salad recipe is sort of a riff on the salsa theme, taking it up a notch with pickled jalapeños, cilantro, cotija cheese, and avocados. It would make a perfect picnic salad for a Mexican themed potluck. If you love Mexican food, I’m willing to bet you’ll love this salad as much as we do! This recipe is an adaptation of a variation of a recipe for a cactus salad (ensalada de nopalitos) in Diana Kennedy’s The Art of Mexican Cooking, recently re-released in a new edition. If you adore authentic Mexican food and want to learn more about cooking it from a master, this is the book to have! It’s a classic. Drain the beans and run cold water over them to cool them quickly. Drain completely. Let sit for half an hour. Serve the avocado slices and tomato wedges on the side or mixed into the salad.
