Black Bean & Avocado Fresco Salad

Last fall, I experimented with using legumes as an ingredient in a salad and came up with a Southwestern Black Bean & Corn Salad, the recipe for which can be found here.  On this occasion, I wanted a variation on that theme without the corn, using a light lime vinaigrette and a delicious Mexican cheese called Queso Fresco.  The two salads are similar with the prime titular ingredient, of course.  But they are otherwise quite different in flavor with this salad having far fewer ingredients, making it simpler to prepare.  This salad was meant as a side dish to My Number One Fan's Chicken Enchilada Soup, the recipe for which is here.

Queso Fresco is a fairly recent import to the U.S. after Mexican cheese manufacturers agreed to pasteurize their product to meet USDA guidelines, a process not done with its south-of-the-border version.  Queso Fresco simply means "Fresh Cheese" and its kindred to what Americans might know as Farmer's Cheese.  It has the consistency of Greek Feta cheese in that it is more crumbly than creamy and does not melt well.  But it does not taste like Feta, which is made from sheep's milk and is aged in brine.  Queso Fresco is made from cow's milk and is un-aged.  It is mild, milky, slightly tangy and perfect for salads.

Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
juice from one fresh lime
zest from one fresh lime
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of smoked salt (like, San Francisco Salt Company cherry wood)
1/3 cup avocado oil

Ingredients
For the Salad
1 15-oz can black beans (like, Bush's or Goya)
1 medium to large ripe avocado
2 medium ripe tomatoes
1/2 large cucumber
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 medium red onion
3 oz Queso Fresco (like, Cacique Ranchero)

The Recipe
You'll need a microplane to zest the lime. I don't recommend omitting this step. The zest gives the vinaigrette a brighter flavor that matches this salad perfectly.

Mix the vinaigrette ingredients together with a wire whisk and set aside at room temperature.

Drain and rinse the black beans through a colander under cold running water, then allow to air dry while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.

De-seed and remove the avocado from its shell using a large soup spoon.  Lay it out on a cutting board and slice into cubes. Add to a large metal mixing bowl.

Core the tomatoes and cut into cubes.  Peel the cucumber and slice lengthwise, then cut the slices into cubes.  Add to the mixing bowl.

Rough chop the cilantro and add to the ingredients.

I cut the red onion into thinly sliced rings as a convenience for My Number One Fan.  Including them in the mix allows some of the onion's flavor to amalgamate into the salad but can be easily removed thereafter.  You can dice the red onion if you prefer.

Add the black beans to the mixing bowl, then give all the ingredients a toss. Put the bowl into the refrigerator for an hour or so.  This will chill everything and allow the flavors to marry a bit.

In the meantime, crumble the three ounces of Queso Fresco.  This isn't difficult to do because the cheese almost crumbles on its own when you slice it.

At the last minute, add the cheese to the salad along with the dressing, then toss to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated. Serve immediately.