Corn N’ Black Bean Salsa — When the Kitchen Remembers What the Heart Cannot Forget

I made tamales — not for an order, not for a holiday, just because. Because the kitchen needed Rosa's presence and the tamales are how Rosa visits. Each tamale is a prayer. Each prayer is a tamale. The kitchen smells like Anapra. The kitchen smells like home.

The tamales take time — time I give willingly, because that’s the point. But on the days in between, when Rosa’s memory is present but my hands need something quicker to hold onto, I come back to this salsa. Corn is corn — it smells like masa, like Anapra, like every kitchen that has ever mattered to me — and stirring it together with black beans and lime is its own small prayer. This is the recipe I make on ordinary Tuesdays, when the ritual doesn’t need to be long to be real.

Corn N’ Black Bean Salsa

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh, frozen (thawed), or canned corn kernels, drained
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Prep the vegetables. Dice the red onion finely, mince the jalapeño (remove seeds for less heat), quarter the cherry tomatoes, and roughly chop the cilantro. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels from 2—3 ears of corn.
2. Combine the base. In a large bowl, add the corn kernels, rinsed black beans, red onion, jalapeño, and cherry tomatoes. Stir gently to combine.
3. Dress and season. Drizzle the olive oil and lime juice over the mixture. Add the cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
4. Fold in cilantro. Add the chopped cilantro and fold gently to distribute without bruising the herbs.
5. Taste and adjust. Taste the salsa and adjust lime juice, salt, or cumin as needed. For best flavor, let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving so the flavors can come together.
6. Serve. Serve with tortilla chips, alongside grilled proteins, over rice, or as a taco topping. Stores covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 118 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 195mg