Celebrate the fun Mexican holiday on May 5 with this festive salad, hearty enough to be a meal all by itself, but wonderfully light and healthy. The foundation of the dish is rice and beans, those nutritious and inexpensive staples of so much world cuisine, while fresh garden vegetables add crunch and taste.

Perfect for all of us who want to include more colorful vegetables in our diets, with low fat but very big flavor, this salad is a quite a fiesta:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cooked or canned black beans, cooled to room temperature
2 cups cooked long-grain white rice, cooled to room temperature
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup Lime Dressing (see below)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Cayenne pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons fresh minced cilantro leaves
3 scallions, white and green parts, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
4 spears asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
1 poblano chile, diced finely
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1. Place rice, beans, and corn in a large bowl, tossing lightly to combine.

2. Make the Lime Dressing, adding the cumin, cayenne, and half of the cilantro, stirring to mix. Drizzle the rice mixture with half of this dressing and toss.

3. In a medium bowl, place scallions, zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, and chile. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and toss. Allow both mixtures to sit for 30 minutes, then combine, tossing well, with salt and pepper to taste.

4. To serve, scatter the remaining cilantro over the top of the salad and serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8.

Lime Dressing

1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (about 4 limes)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1. Whisk lime juice and mustard together in a small bowl. Add the garlic, herbs, and olive oil, whisking to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste.