This simple salad is the perfect side dish for any Southwestern meal or Cinco de Mayo party. It’s delicious served warm or cold and as a huge bonus, leftovers can be mixed with scrambled eggs and wrapped in a big flour tortilla for an awesome breakfast burrito the next morning. Leave out the cheese for a vegan version; it won’t have the sharp bite that cotija contributes, but it will still be good. The salad is also really yummy with tortilla chips, as a refreshingly different type of salsa.
Exact size of ears or bag of corn doesn’t really matter. You want a roughly 2:1 ratio of corn to beans for this recipe.
Mix the following in a large bowl, then get ready for fiesta time:
2 ears fresh corn, grilled or boiled, kernels cut from the cob. You can substitute a bag of frozen corn (cook it first).
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 cup finely diced roasted green chiles OR 1/2 of a finely diced fresh jalapeño (seeds and spines removed)
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup grated cotija cheese. If you can only find a block or wedge of cotija, don’t worry–it crumbles up very easily
Juice of 1 lime or 1/2 a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
April 9th, 2012 at 12:50 PM
Yum. Love the idea of the additional breakfast options! Another corn salad I love to do in the summer is a roasted corn that you then add mozz, basil, and tomatoes to, with a balsamic dressing…so good! Definitely feels like Spring is here!
April 9th, 2012 at 12:54 PM
I’m celebrating the sun every chance I get! I love balsamic with just about everything and really like the idea of beefing up a traditional caprese (minus the basil) with corn. I also love roasted corn with thinly sliced fennel and tomatoes, with rice vinegar dressing. How’s your potted garden coming along? I have some basil starts if you’d like a couple.