Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Salsa

To me, this is the most ubiquitous of summer dishes, which appears at every Southern potluck or picnic. It goes by various names: Pinto Bean Salsa Salad and Black Bean and Corn Salad, just to name a few. And it has as many permutations of ingredients as it does names.

Like a lot of Southern staples I grew up on, this dish includes "a can of this and a can of that." But this time of year, you can substitute most of those cans for fresh ingredients, particularly fresh corn. I would love to make this dish one day using only fresh-from-the-garden ingredients, including home-grown beans. However, the one substitution I will never make is for that can of Ro-Tel. My Southern sensibilities run deep, and I just can't concoct anything in my kitchen that does the job so well as that linchpin of local cooking.

The wonderful thing about this salsa is that will use up the bulk of those tomatoes, peppers, and onions that come in your weekly box. I make a batch as soon as my box arrives, then I let it marinate for about a day, to allow the flavors to emerge. It stores in the fridge for about four days, and it keeps well in lunch boxes and, of course, in hot-weather potlucks and picnics.

I saw this dish so many times growing up that I assumed everyone knew about it. In fact, I thought it was so universal, I vowed a few years ago never to serve it at a party or take it to a potluck ever again. Then once, when I was living in Canada, I went to a dinner held by a gourmet cooking group I was a member of, and someone proudly presented this very dish. He had just "discovered" it in a cookbook, and "wasn't it wonderful?!" Everyone concurred.

So, on the off-chance that this is a new-to-you recipe, I proudly present ...

Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Salsa

For the salsa:
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
3 small peppers, diced
1 spicy pepper (optional)
1 medium purple onion
1 can of sweet corn (or substitute fresh corn)
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of dark red kidney beans
1 can of Ro-Tel

For the vinaigrette (suggested ratios):
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
juice of one small lime
2 Tablespoons, fresh cilantro, chopped
Tabasco sauce, to taste

Chop the tomatoes, onions and peppers and put them in a large bowl. Rinse the beans and add them, along with the can of Ro-Tel to the bowl. Stir.

To make the vinaigrette, mix the olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl. Stir in the lime juice, salt and sugar. Add the Tabasco sauce to taste. Pour over the salsa and mix it up real good.

Garnish with the chopped cilantro. Let it marinate in the fridge for about a day. Serve with corn chips.