Fresh corn and avocado salad

Kyle’s Kitchen

KYLE COOKE

If it’s still too hot to cook in your house, here’s a recipe that requires no cooking especially now that fresh corn is in season. I personally don’t think you have to cook fresh corn, chiefly in this application, but you can cook if it you want to. Heck, you could even use frozen corn.

I have to admit I was a bit leery of a TexMex recipe from Ina Garten, who is Jewish and lives in East Hampton, NY, but I was wrong to be suspicious. This looks good! She’s the one who calls it TexMex, not me.

Fresh Corn and Avocado Salad 3 ears corn, shucked Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved through the stem 1 orange bell pepper, cored, seeded, and 1/2-inchdiced 1/2 cup medium-diced red onion 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed, minced 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes) 2 tablespoons good olive oil 1 tsp minced garlic 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder 2 ripe Hass avocados, large-diced Juice of 1 lemon Cook the corn in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 7 minutes, until just tender. Cool for 5 minutes and cut the kernels o ff the cob, cutting close to the cob with a sharp knife. Place the kernels in a large bowl with the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno peppers.

In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss.

In a separate bowl, gently toss the avocados and lemon juice together, making sure the avocado is coated in lemon juice. Add to the vegetables, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and carefully fold together without breaking up the avocados. Sprinkle with salt and serve cold or at room temperature. —kwc— Jollof rice is a popular West African dish and there are as many variations as there are countries in West Africa. Some call for curry powder, others red bell peppers and lots of other things.

I found a simple one that is baked, and has no ingredients that aren’t already in your pantry, on a website called preciouscore.com. Precious is from Cameroon, which is not technically part of West Africa, but is adjacent. I think this recipe is well-suited to American palates because ginger is the oddest ingredient. And ginger isn’t very odd.

This is a baked recipe but there is an endless supply of recipes if you do some Googling.

Jollof Rice 2 cups parboiled rice 3/4 cup tomato paste 6 oz 1 medium onion, chopped 5 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp ginger powder or 1 inch ginger root grated 1/4 cup oil 2 chicken seasoning cubes 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp white pepper (or black) 1 bay leaf 1 tsp smoked paprika optional Parsley for garnishing Preheat oven to 400. Heat up oil in a cast iron skillet on medium heat then saute onion and garlic until fragrant. About 2 minutes.

Add tomato paste and cook stirring constantly for 5 minutes.

Add in 3 cups of water gradually and stir well. Add ginger, paprika, white pepper, bay leaf, salt and seasoning cubes. Mix well to combine then add in the rice and mix well. Cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil and place in preheated oven.

Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.