Zesty Corn Avocado Salad


October 11, 2010

This corn avocado salad is zesty and perfect for the summer months.

Zesty Corn Avocado Salad

This zesty corn avocado salad is super easy and really delicious. This summer corn salad is raw, vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, and totally yummy.

At the risk of sounding corny – “there is no place like home!” Paul Young says “wherever I lay my hat that’s my home.” But as much as I love that song, I cannot agree. For me “home is where the heart is,” and my heart will always be with my family. I almost found myself on a plane back to Australia at the beginning of the week. I woke from a nightmare in a cold sweat, and in a moment of panicked home-sick nostalgia, AKA “I miss my mum and dad,” my fingers found themselves furiously pounding the keys in desperate anticipation of the cheap-skate deal of the century that was going to answer my prayers and whisk me back to Australia for a week with my loved ones.

As I sat there wading through a sea of non-compliant discount internet sites that were not sharing the love, my dream of squeezing my niece who has just started walking started slipping away. The gods had other plans. There were no seats on any flights due to the school holidays, and I had no ruby slippers to magically transport me home. I was left wanting….

I decided to do the next best thing and fly to my other home in Missouri to spend some quality time in the kitchen cooking with friends and have dinner with my father-in-law. It was a memorable weekend full of love, laughs, and tons of delicious food, which I will happily share in the coming weeks.

Seeing as I am sharing my corny side, I thought it only right we really eat corn! So I am posting this scrumptious raw corn salad that Kris and I threw together for our lunch on Saturday. Now, I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of corn and have traditionally not even been a fan of a good vegan corn salad. I don’t cook with corn very often as I can think of so many other more nutritious vegetables that I prefer to work with. But I had a few bags of organic corn that had desperately cried out to me when I opened the freezer, and I thought it was time I gave them a starring role. I remembered a delicious corn salad my mum and her friend Sue were fond of making last year, and decided to create my own version of this quick and easy veggie dish.

After I told Kris we were making a corn avocado salad for lunch, she replied with a skeptical dissonant whine “I don’t really do corn!” I replied in an equally dissatisfied pitch “neither do I!” Well, after one bite of this summer corn salad we had changed our tune, and were singing the praises of the fresh corn salad in full melodic harmony. We are thinking of taking our show to Broadway.

You wince….but there is something about the light zestiness of the lime juice and the heat of the chili that puts a zing in the step of even the most corn-phobic diner. It bewitches the palate, creating culinary music of a very simple and universal nature. And the best thing about this salad? It doesn’t taste “corny!” I thought this would make it more palatable for those of you who found my previous corniness just a tad indigestible!

I have added the quantities of chile, garlic and lime juice that I like. But feel free to add your own signature to this dish. I used frozen corn, but fresh is always best. The best part is, that either way, you don’t have to cook the corn. Just soak it in some hot water for a few minutes and then drain. Throw it together and season to taste. Kind of like a 90 minute rom-com movie that is light, quick, easy to digest, and really really corny!  If you are looking for quick easy Summer recipes, this salad is a winner! It is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, soy free and sugar free. But not taste free! It is deelish! Let me just get my microphone for that one!

Thanks Kris, Michelle, Nicole, Courtney, Elaine, Lois and Sharon for a fabulous weekend. The corny side of me wants to slap my tap shoes on and sing at the top of my lungs, “I Luuuuuuuv you”!

Other Avocado Salads

Sesame Apple Avocado Salad
Chopped Salad with Avocado Dressing
Strawberry Avocado Mâche Salad
Green Goddess Salad
Detox Vegan Spinach Salad

Let me know what you think of this zesty corn avocado salad in the comments!

Your feedback is important, and it helps me decide which recipes to post next for you.

 

Zesty Corn Avocado Salad

This corn avocado salad is zesty and perfect for the summer months.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 to 8
Author Tess Masters

Ingredients

  • 4 cups frozen corn kernels (rinsed under hot water to defrost)
  • 1 cup diced red bell pepper 
  • 1 cup diced diced tomato
  • 1 cup diced avocado 
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons  fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped serrano chile, plus more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons  Celtic sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/8 teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, toss all of the ingredients together. Tweak the lime juice, chile, salt, and pepper to taste.

Recipe Notes

Photo by Trent Lanz and styling by Alicia Buszczak

Comments

Comments 23

  1. Delicious. Absolutely awesome! Great balance of flavors and textures. Sweet, spicy, tart, etc. We used as a side with rice, beans and tortillas.

  2. I love salads with fruit in them – something about it feels gourmet, or smething. I’ve tried grapes, citrus, and strawberries, but the blueberry+salad combination is not one that has ever occurred to me! This sounds like a great dressing!

  3. I love salads with fruit in them – something about it feels gourmet, or smething. I’ve tried grapes, citrus, and strawberries, but the blueberry+salad combination is not one that has ever occurred to me! This sounds like a great dressing!

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