Cooking for Pleasure: Mexican corn and bean salad

Several years ago, I ate at a wonderful Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles where I was served a delicious salad of colorful mixed vegetables with a spicy dressing. I begged the server for the recipe, something I never do. The chef didn’t give me the recipe, but did give me a list of ingredients.

After some trial and error, I came up with this recipe which I have made many, many times. It is always a hit and can be doubled or tripled for a large group. This is a great summer salad and is the perfect accompaniment for a picnic dinner or a Mexican meal. The charm of this salad is the variety of tastes and textures of each ingredient. All together they become outstanding.

One of the secrets of this salad is cutting each vegetable into identical size dice which adds to the presentation.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups frozen corn, dry fried (roasted) in a hot oil-free pan (cook until the corn just starts to turn brown on the edges)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 to 2 cups of jicama, peeled and diced

3 fresh roasted green chilies (Poblano or Anaheim) peeled, seeded and diced

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 bunch of cilantro, minced

Salt and pepper

DRESSING:

Mix the following ingredients:

¼ cup fresh lime juice

1 finely minced shallot (about 2 tablespoons)

1 finely minced Serrano pepper (taste for heat. You may want to use only part of it if too hot)

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix thoroughly and taste for seasoning.

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all salad ingredients. Toss with enough dressing to moisten. Taste salad for seasoning and adjust according to your taste. Chill until ready to serve.

Just before serving fry four corn tortillas cut into dice until crisp but not brown. Drain on paper towels.

Cut one or two ripe avocados into dice.

Toss salad with the crisp tortilla chips and the diced avocados.

Note: Fresh chili peppers vary wildly in the amount of heat. I suggest tasting each one before you use them in your salad. They can be roasted by placing them under your broiler until the skins turn black. Place roasted peppers in paper bag and let steam and cool before peeling.

• Patty Schied is a longtime Juneau resident who studied at the Cordon Bleu in London, has cooked meals for both AWARE and the Glory Hall, and has written a cookbook. Cooking For Pleasure appears every other week in Capital City Weekly.