Raw Corn and Black Bean Salad with Avocado

Ever had corn so fresh that you were tempted to take a bite out of it, raw, and see what it tasted like? Recently I brought home some fresh, organically-grown corn and decided to do just that. I took a little nibble and it tasted good, a little starchier than I expected, but sweet and juicy. Being a careful person by nature, I didn’t dare take more than a bite without checking to see if uncooked corn was safe to eat in larger quantities, and sure enough, people have been whipping up raw creamed corn, soup, chowder (and more chowder), salad (and more salad), and corn chips and, of course, eating it right off the cob. So I decided to try raw corn in the type of salad I would normally make with roasted corn and decrease the seasonings a little to let the freshness of the corn shine through.

The resulting salad was very quick to throw together, light, and filled with the flavors of summer. A couple of words of warning, though. You must use corn that is freshly picked for this to have the best flavor. Older raw corn is still edible, but it’ll be tougher and less sweet. Also, some people (and by “people” I mean kids) just don’t like raw corn. My daughter E disliked it immediately and demanded that I tell you that she gave this negative 5 Crumbs on her Num-Crumb scale. She claims, “I don’t like raw food,” though I noticed she had no trouble gobbling up the raw avocado!

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Raw Corn and Black Bean Salad with Avocado

If your corn is not absolutely fresh, I recommend cooking it before removing the kernels. Baking and grilling produce the most flavorful results. You can also use organic, frozen corn–no need to defrost.

Ingredients

• 2 ears fresh corn, silks and husks removed
• 1 1/2 cups (1 can) cooked black beans, drained and rinsed in a colander until water runs clear
• 1 medium tomato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (or to taste)
• 1/4 – 1/2 jalapeno pepper seeded and finely chopped (to taste)
• 1 avocado
• 4 lime wedges, to serve

Instructions

1. Cut the corn from the cob: Stand the corn on end in a large mixing bowl and insert a sharp knife just at the bottom of the kernels. Slowly cut all the way to the other end of the corn. Turn the corn and repeat until all the kernels are cut from the cob.
2. Put the corn in a medium mixing bowl. Add the well-rinsed black beans and all remaining ingredients except the avocado and lime wedges. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate a couple of hours to allow flavors to blend.
3. To serve, peel and slice the avocado. Place one-fourth of the slices on each salad plate, arranging them in a circle, if you wish. Fill the center of each circle with the salad. Serve with wedges of lime to be squeezed over the salad at the table, if desired.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s) | Cooking time: 0 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Calories: 233

Fat: 8

Protein: 9.5

Additional Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (7.4 ounces).

Percent daily values are based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.

(Without avocado, contains 161 calories, 1g of fat (7% calories from fat), 32g carbohydrates, 9g fiber, 9g protein.)

Tagged as: Eat-to-Live, Gluten-free, Higher-fat, Ridiculously Easy