Monday, July 9, 2012

Avocado, Corn & Tomato Salad

What a yummy summer winner! I came across this recipe here and decided to give it a shot.

As it turns out, my kitchen is STILL under renovation (since, hell-o, MEMORIAL DAY weekend!!!). So cooking/baking anything is pretty tough.  Hence, I've been on a mission for two things. One: NO MORE TAKE-OUT. I swear, I've gained at least 6 pounds in the last 6 weeks.  And two: finding and making recipes that don't require any cooking.

This is how I turned to this current recipe.  And it is delicious! It only takes about 15 minutes to make (that includes the cooking time for the corn). I prepared everything else while the corn was cooking.  Then I soaked the corn in cold water for about 2 minutes before slicing it off.

Here it is...

AVOCADO, CORN & TOMATO SALAD




INGREDIENTS:

6 ears corn
3 large fresh tomatoes
1/2 large onion or about 1 cup chopped ( I used a sweet onion)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
two to three sprigs fresh oregano (optional)
2 tablespoons white vinegar ( I used white balsamic)
1/4 cup olive oil
coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Boil corn in large pot of water for about 7 minutes. Drain and plunge corn into cool water. Cut corn off cob and set aside to cool completely.
Chunk tomatoes and onion. Coarsely chop basil and strip the oregano off stems. Place cooled corn, chopped vegetable and herbs into large bowl. Toss with vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste. Serve chilled or room temperature

Tips:
-The recipe called for white vinegar, but I love white balsamic (sweeter) vinegar. Apple cider vinegar would also work. I don't recommend regular balsamic vinegar. The dark red color will discolor the onion and corn and the overall look of the salad will change.
 















PERSONAL NOTES:

The original recipe calls for white balsamic vinegar.  That would certainly work.  I used a cabernet vinegar. So it was red, but as you can tell by my pictures it didn't turn the salad completely red.

It's so refreshing and simple to make!