Mexican Corn and Quinoa Salad

Yesterday’s lunch is today’s post.

In fact, since my husband doesn’t like quinoa, the leftovers were today’s lunch too. I was so excited with anticipation and couldn’t wait for lunch time to roll around. This salad is that awesome.

I’ve heard of Mexican corn but I never knew exactly what it was until I saw this recipe and got curious enough to look it up. Mexican (street) corn, also known as elote, is a corn on the cob most commonly served with salt, chili powder, butter, cheese, lemon or lime juice, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Wow, I’ve been missing out because that sounds fabulous.

Although I have to admit that as much as I adore corn on the cob, I don’t like eating it right off the cob, so this salad is ideal to enjoy the corn sans the cob with all those great Mexican flavors. I also love how this salad incorporates avocado instead of mayo and sour cream because, hello, avocado and corn is delicious together. See my corn guacamole as Exhibit A. Plus, I don’t mind the taste of mayo but for some reason I get grossed out cooking with it. (Something my husband routinely calls out as being weird.)

Anyway, I know that I’ll be making this salad like 17 more times before the summer ends because I love it that much. The challenge, should you accept it, is to make it more than me (or at least once). 🙂

Mexican Corn and Quinoa Salad Recipe
(Makes about 2 servings as a main dish or 4 as a side dish)

Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa
3 cups of corn (I used corn on the cob and the equivalent is about 4 corn on the cob.)
1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeded and diced (You can also cut a couple slices for the top.)
2 scallions, sliced (You can use chives instead, which is what I did because my grocery store didn’t have scallions.)
a handful of cilantro, chopped
1 lime
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1 avocado, remove the peel and pit
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons of feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup shredded cheese (Most cheeses will work, but I like Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or Mozzarella.)

Directions:

Cook the quinoa and set it aside.
If you are using corn on the cob, cook it the way you like and cut the corn kernels from the cob into a bowl. I cooked the cobs in the microwave for 3 minutes (with the husk on).
Add the cooked quinoa, diced jalapenos, sliced scallions, half of the lime juice, and chili powder into the bowl of corn and mix everything together. Set this aside.
In a food processor, add the avocado, remaining half of the lime juice, salt, and pepper, and blend it until it’s smooth. Depending on the consistency of the avocado, you may want to add a tablespoon of water and blend again until smooth. The goal here is to get the consistency of something similar to mayonnaise.
Add the avocado mixture to the quinoa mixture and gently mix everything together. (For my pictures, I left it on the side.)
Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
Sprinkle the feta cheese and shredded cheese on top.

Source: What’s Gaby Cooking

Rating: