Black Bean & Sirloin Tips Salad

Serves

Six to eight as a salad, or four to six as a meal.

Ingredients

3	cups		dried black beans, soaked overnight
2	Tblsp		dijon mustard
1/3	cup		lemon juice
1	tsp		ground cumin
1/4	cup		good olive oil
1
2	lbs		sirloin tips
			fresh tomatoes, sliced

Procedure

1. Cook the beans until they're just barely soft.

2. Combine everything but the sirloin and the tomatoes, and chill for at least one hour, until the beans are cold.

3. Grill the sirloin tips 'til they're medium rare (or to taste, if you insist on over-cooking good beef).

4. Slice the sirloin into bite-size strips and lay on the chilled salad.

5. Add the tomato slices.

Notes

You can use a good sirloin steak instead of sirloin tips; cook the steak whole and then slice into thin, short strips.

You might try chopping the tomatoes into small chunks and mixing into the salad rather than laying them on to of everything; if you do this, mix them in just before adding the sirloin.

The tomatoes will get mushy if left in the mixture overnight; if you're planning to eat this over a few days, consider mixing the tomatoes into the individual servings.

Beans can also be quick-cooked instead of being soaked overnight. To do this, place the beans in water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let stand 1 hour. Drain off the water and rinse.

Rating

Time: Overnight plus 45 minutes, or three hours (for the quick-cook method).

Precision: 1.