Avocado and Corn Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

I found THE BEST salad recipe! I know you will love this and it will become one of your favorites.  It’s so good, I’ve already made it about 4 times.  I know we’re all trying to eat more healthy foods, and I for one do try to include healthy and low fat meals during the week so we can indulge and eat things like pizza, cake or a cheeseburger on the weekend.  So, if I absolutely HAVE TO eat more vegetables, this is how I want to eat them… this is my kind of healthy dish.
It is not only an avocado and corn salad, it includes other chopped fresh veggies and a flavorful vinaigrette, I’m still not sold on the leafy salad variety…they’re not so filling.  This has a mixture of textures and flavors that balance off wonderfully, not to mention it looks great.  (Well, my photo isn’t so hot, the avocado I used was a little soft… but I promise it looks great served on a plate).  The crisp cucumber against the soft cheese, tart tomatillos with buttery avocados and all the flavors blended with a perfect cilantro vinaigrette are a real treat to your taste buds.   I’ve paired this with spicy chicken wings, or grilled chicken and I have had great comments about it from my family.

I did mess around with the original recipe, which called from grilled corn (not gonna happen), feta cheese (eeeeh…I prefer farmer’s cheese for this salad) and it did not include tomatillos.  In Guatemala, we use tomatillos to make “Salsa Verde”  which is  a sauce used in a variety of Latin recipes. The thing is, we mostly use cooked tomatillos for our dishes.  Go ahead and try to slice up a few of them on your next salad (uncooked), you will love them!

For our Guatemalan readers, use queso fresco, queso de capas or queso panela for this.

Avocado and Grilled Corn Salad
with Cilantro Vinaigrette

Recipe adapted from Authentic Suburban Gourmet

Serves 4

Ingredients:
5  ears of corn, cooked
2  avocados
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup green tomatillos (miltomate), quartered
1/2  small red onion, finely diced
¾ cup fresh farmers cheese (queso fresco or queso panela), cut into cubes
1 english cucumber

Procedure:

1. To cook the ears of corn, boil them in water for 8 minutes, use a sharp knife to cut the grains off.
2. For the avocados, dice and sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent browning.
3. Cut in half the english cucumber, remove the seeds with a spoon and slice  (I leave the skin on, it’s your choice).
4. Mix all the ingredients and add to a large bowl.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

 Cilantro Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
6  tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1  teaspoon garlic powder
2  tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
½ teaspoon Salt
10 grinds of fresh ground pepper
a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Procedure:

1. Add olive oil to a small bowl.  Stir in garlic powder, cilantro, salt, pepper, cayenne (if using).
2. Add vinegar and whisk until well combined.  Taste to adjust seasoning.
3. When ready to serve salad, add the dressing and gently toss.

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