Southwestern Corn Salad with Chipotle Shrimp

Name: Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 4 cups corn (boiled, off the cob (instructions below if needed)); 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained ); 4 medium roma tomatoes (diced (should yield about 3-4 cups)); 2 cups red onion (diced); 1/2 cup cilantro (chopped to taste (stems and leaves)); 1/3 cup lime juice (*can use 1/2 cup if you prefer extra bright and zesty flavors); Salt (to taste (I used 3 generous pinches) instructions on salting to taste are below)

20 minutes

Serves people

Fresh corn tossed with lime juice, cilantro, black beans, tomatoes and red onion. Serve as a side dish with a protein or as a "serve yourself" style starter. Perfect bright and zesty flavors for summer!

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southwestern corn and black bean salad with tomatoes and onions

Dare I say that corn on the cob with butter and salt can get old ?! While I do love that classic summery combo, I also love to mix it up. Yes, I do have a YouTube video where I jazz up the classic cob with some compound butters (which I’ve linked below) but you know…we can’t eat butter all the time. And I needed to make something for my vegans out there. That’s where this salad comes in.

Lucky for you, this southwestern corn salad is extremely easy to make; keeps in the fridge for days; and goes perfectly with freshly grilled anything. Seriously. I paired it with a chipotle shrimp in these photos, but you can also serve this salad as a side dish for burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, grilled fish…. truly anything thrown on a grill. It just gives off “summer by the pool” vibes. You also can portion it out and serve it on individual plates, or you can just throw it all in a massive bowl and tell people to serve themselves.

To boil your corn:

In terms of boiling the corn, boil it in a large stock pot full of boiling water for 8-10 minutes. I like a little more crunch in my corn, so I go for 8 minutes. But most recipes call for 10 for that standard tenderness. If you have smaller cobs, also err on the side of 8 minutes. For larger cobs, err on the side of 10 minutes. Feel free to add 1 tsp of salt to the boiling water. If you want to enhance the sweetness of the corn, feel free to add a generous amount of sugar as well (2 tsp-1 tbsp.)

Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad

20

Serves people

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Ingredients

▢ 4 cups corn boiled, off the cob (instructions below if needed)
▢ 2 cans black beans rinsed and drained
▢ 4 medium roma tomatoes diced (should yield about 3-4 cups)
▢ 2 cups red onion diced
▢ 1/2 cup cilantro chopped to taste (stems and leaves)
▢ 1/3 cup lime juice *can use 1/2 cup if you prefer extra bright and zesty flavors
▢ Salt to taste (I used 3 generous pinches) instructions on salting to taste are below

Directions

For the corn:

In a large stock pot full of water + 1 tsp salt. Bring the water to a boil. Add the corn and boil for 8-10 minutes, until the corn is bright yellow in color and tender, while still maintaining a little bit of firmness.
Place the cooked corn into a bowl of cold water and then run more cold water over the corn until the temperature neutralizes and it's no longer piping hot.
One at a time, place the corn on the cutting board, thick side down. Hold the top of the corn firmly, while anchoring the bottom of the corn onto the cutting board. Then use a chefs knife to slice the kernels off the cob, until you hit the spine of the corn. The knife should slide easily down the cob and you may have to rock it back and forth a bit to get all of the kernels off. Repeat with all of the corn until its all off the cob.

For the salad:

In a bowl, combine the corn and all of the other salad ingredients. Toss until combined.
Taste to make sure the levels of cilantro, salt and lime juice are to your liking. If not, feel free to add a little bit more at a time, then toss and taste. In terms of salting to taste, i recommend adding 1/8 tsp at a time, then tossing and tasting until you reach your desired salt levels.
Serve immediately or cover in a sealed container and keep in the fridge up to 4 days.

Dinner Party Menu

First on the menu is an outstanding pumpkin risotto with stracciatella, crispy sage, and shiitakes. Paired with it is a maple dijon pork tenderloin (or chicken thighs). For dessert, enjoy an apple cider bread pudding with creme anglaise and caramel.

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