Thank you, mom, for sharing your most delicious summer salad!
Dressing:
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic finely minced
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
Tortilla Strips:
6 6 inch corn tortillas
1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
Salad:
1 medium head romaine lettuce chopped in approximately 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium bell pepper diced in 1/4-inch pieces, any color
½ medium red onion diced in 1/4-inch pieces
½ medium jicama peeled and diced in 1/4-inch pieces (or water chestnuts)
1 medium zucchini diced in 1/4-inch dice
4 medium tomatoes seeded and diced into 1/4-inch dice
4 ears corn (or substitute 1 1/2 cups of sweet, tiny frozen corn)
1 1/2 cups canned black beans drained and rinsed
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro plus whole cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions:
Dressing: combine lime juice, honey, cumin, garlic and salt. In a slow, steady stream, add the oils, stirring continuously with a fork/small whisk. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
Tortilla strips: preheat oven to 400˚F. Stack corn tortillas on a cutting board. Cut in half. Cut each stack of halves into thin strips, widthwise, about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer tortilla strips to a sheet pan. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and toss to coat. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, or until light golden brown and crisp. Set aside to cool.
Salad: place corn, two ears at a time, in the microwave for 3 1/2 minutes. Remove with a hot pad and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then, cut bottom end of corn off, about 1 1/2 inches from end. Pull back husk and silks (almost all of the silk should easily pull away). Cut kernels from husks. Set aside.
Combine corn and other salad ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add dressing and stir to coat all ingredients. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with tortilla strips on top. Voila!
