Description
A flavorful salad with sweet corn, tangy tomatillo, and rich ancho chili.
Ingredients
Ancho Chili Dressing
- 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder*
- 1 canned chipotle pepper in Adobo sauce, chopped*
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar*
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 cup light olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Salad
- 4 ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob
- 1 cup diced tomatillos*
- 1 cup halved currant/cherry tomatoes*
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 heaping cup queso fresco or Cotija cheese*
- 1/4 cup toasted pepitas, plus more for garnishing
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons chili dressing
- 1/2–1 teaspoon kosher salt*
- Pepper to taste
- juice of 1/2 lime
Instructions
For the Ancho Chili Dressing:
- Add the ancho chili powder, chipotle pepper, jalapeño pepper, garlic, balsamic vinegar, honey, olive oil, and salt to a blender. Blend until very smooth.
For the Salad
- In a medium bowl, add the corn, tomatillos, tomatoes, cilantro, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/4 cup pepitas, chili dressing, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Right before serving, dress with the lime juice and garnish with extra pepitas, cheese, and cilantro.
- Enjoy cold or at room temperature. Eat right away.
Notes
Tomatoes and Tomatillos: Depending on what’s available to you, you can add mix and match red tomatoes, green tomatoes, and tomatillos. Just make sure you end up with 2 cups total to add to your salad.
Ancho chili powder: See the text above on how to make ancho chili powder from a whole chili.
Chipotle pepper: If you want your dressing less spicy, remove the seeds.
White balsamic vinegar: You can also use any other light vinegar, like rice vinegar, champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, etc. However, it will likely be less sweet, so you may want to add a whole tablespoon of honey instead of 1/2 tablespoon.
Cheese and salt: Queso fresco has less salt than Cotija cheese. If you use Cotija, I recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to your salad. If you use queso fresco, I recommend 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
Keywords: vegan, vegetarian, salads, ancho chili, sweet corn, corn, tomatillos, summer, healthy food, comfort food