Black Bean Stacked Salad

I believe we (our family) got this recipe from Vegetarian Times about 3 years ago...everyone loves it!

Ingredients:
Salad:
15.5 oz. can of Black Beans (drained and rinsed) or 1 cup of dried black beans cooked according to package directions
4 Plum Tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
2 Cups of frozen Corn, dethawed
1 English Cucumber (it has no seeds in it), diced
2 Jalapeño peppers, seeds removed and diced
1 red Onion, diced

Dressing:
juice of 4 Limes
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoons ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground Coriander
1/2 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 Cup Peanut Oil

Other necessary toppings:
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds, roasted and salted
2 Cups crushed Tortilla Chips
1 1/2 Cups shredded Chedar Cheese

Directions:
In a large, clear, glass bowl, layer the black beans, tomatoes, garlic, corn, cucumber, jalapeños, and red onion.

In a small soup bowl wisk together lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and coriander. Wisk in peanut oil slowly so that it mixes in well.

Bring the layered salad to the table. At this point you can make the decision of 1. adding the cheese, chips, sunflower seeds and dressing in the large bowl, mixing it and serving it, OR 2. letting everyone add the cheese, chips, sunflower seeds, and dressing in their own bowl after you have just mixed the vegetables together. I prefer option 2 because if there are leftovers the chips will be very soggy and it will not taste as great the next day. But, if you are sure you will eat it all in the same meal, then ontop of the red onion layer the cheese, sunflower seeds, and then the crushed tortilla chips.

The original recipe calls to add 8 Tomatillos, tusks removed, and chipped (this would be the second layer after the balck beans), but since there are no Tomatillos in Germany, I leave them out and in the summer when green tomatoes are in season, I add that instead. But, I leaft them out of the main recipe. The original recipe also calls for Moneray Jack cheese, but I prefere Chedar's stronger flavor.

Serves 4 as a main dish (without tomatillos)
Serves 6 as a main dish (with tomatillos)
Serves 14 as a side dish (with tomatillos)