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AI-generated photograph: A tall loose pile of fine white cabbage, lettuce and grated carrot on a wide shallow white bowl, bright stripes of yellow sweetcorn and orange baked beans across the top, red tomato wedges around the rim

Home · Recipes · Nigerian salad with sweetcorn, beans and lime

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Nigerian salad with sweetcorn, beans and lime

crisp cabbage · sweetcorn and beans · lime dressing

AI-generated photograph

The crunchy, colourful salad that sits beside jollof at every Nigerian party: shredded cabbage, carrot, cucumber and tomato with sweetcorn and baked beans, dressed here with bright lime instead of salad cream.

Contains: none of the 14 allergens, as written. None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Most tinned baked beans contain none, but check the tin, as some brands add other ingredients.

Ingredients

  • A quarter of a white cabbage (about 250g), cored
  • 1 little gem lettuce
  • 2 carrots (about 200g)
  • Half a cucumber
  • 2 ripe tomatoes
  • Half a small red onion
  • 1 small tin of sweetcorn (198g), drained
  • 1 small tin of baked beans (220g)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • Half a teaspoon salt
  • A pinch of black pepper

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Let's cook

  1. Slice the cabbage as thinly as you can into fine ribbons. Put it in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to crisp up while you prepare the rest, then drain it well and pat dry in a clean tea towel.
  2. Shred the lettuce into ribbons the same size. Peel the carrots and grate them on the large holes of a grater.
  3. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon and slice it into thin half moons. Cut the tomatoes into small wedges. Slice the onion very thinly.
  4. Make the dressing: whisk the olive oil, lime juice, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl or shake them in a jar until the sugar dissolves.
  5. Toss the cabbage, lettuce, carrot, cucumber and onion with most of the dressing. Pile it onto a plate or into a shallow bowl.
  6. Spoon the sweetcorn and the baked beans in neat stripes over the top, arrange the tomato wedges around the edge and drizzle over the last of the dressing. Serve straight away while it is crisp.

Tips

  • Soaking the shredded cabbage in cold water makes it extra crunchy; drying it well stops the dressing going watery.
  • Keep the beans on top rather than mixed in, so the salad stays bright and the sauce does not stain it.
  • Undressed, the chopped vegetables keep in a sealed box in the fridge for a day.

Swaps

  • Classic style (no longer vegan): add 2 sliced hard boiled eggs on top and dress with salad cream; check the jar for eggs and mustard.
  • Cheaper: leave out the lettuce and use a little more cabbage.

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Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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The Nigerian meal plan