We’ve been feeling somewhat guilty for all of our “comfort food” recipes lately. Don’t get us wrong, we love ourselves a spicy corn dip, but there’s only so much dip we can take. So we decided to throw a healthy summer salad your way. Sure it’s on a tostada shell (baby steps) but you can totally eat the salad by itself or as a topping on grilled chicken or fish!
We begin by grilling our corn. If you don’t have a grill, you can also cook them under the broiler, to get them charred all around.
Allow the corn to cool and then cut off the kernels from the cob. Be careful when you cut the kernels off because it can be super wobbly.
Toss in the remaining veggies into the bowl, along with the grilled corn kernels.
I don’t like adding uncooked onions to anything because I feel like their flavor is too strong. No matter how little I add, I always feel like the onions overpower everything! So a good trick is to marinate the onions in a bit of red wine vinegar for a bit. At least half an hour.
The vinegar helps break down the onions and lessen their strong flavor!
Add the onions (with a bit of the vinegar, not all of it) into the bowl with the rest of the veggies. Season it all with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Give the grilled corn salad a taste and adjust the seasonings (or amount of vinegar) as needed. It all depends on what you prefer!
You can turn this salad into grilled corn salad tostadas by piling it high onto store bought tostada shells and topping it with crumbed cotija (Mexican cheese you can find in the cheese aisle) and cilantro! Enjoy!
- 4 fresh ears of corn, husked
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 avocados, diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup crumbed cotija cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- tostada shells for serving
- Grill the corn on a stove top or outdoor grill until charred all around. You can also cook it under a broiler until charred. Allow to cool.
- Combine the chopped red onion and red wine vinegar in a small bowl. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut the corn kernels off the cob and throw them into a large bowl. Toss in the tomatoes, red bell pepper, avocado, black beans and seasonings. Add the onions with only some of the red wine vinegar. Not all of it. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings (or red wine vinegar) accordingly.
- Serve on top of store bought tostada shells. Sprinkle with crumbled cotija cheese and fresh cilantro on top. Enjoy!