Corn, Green Beans, and Parmesan
A summery salad that manages to be well-balanced while combining a variety of flavors you wouldn't normally find together.
Ingredients
- 6 oz (170 g) green beans or yellow wax beans
- 3 ears corn
- 2 tablespoons lime juice plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon green or red hot sauce plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 scallions
- 1 bunch cilantro optional
- ⅔ cup quicos (corn nuts, plain)
- 1-2 oz (30-55g) Parmesan
- optional: Nasturtium leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a medium pan of water to a boil. As the water heats, prepare an ice bath (cold water + lots of ice) in a large bowl for the green beans. Rinse and trim the green beans (or yellow wax beans). Add the beans to the boil water and blanch until they become quite bright in color, about 1 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the blanched beans to the ice bath and let cool for about 12 minutes.
- Shuck the corn and cut the kernels off the cob. In a small skillet set over medium high heat, saute the corn until just heated through, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
- In a medium serving bowl, whisk together the lime juice, hot sauce, olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Thinly slice the scallions on the bias and add to the serving bowl. If using cilantro, remove the leaves from the stems and add the leaves to the serving bowl. Coarsely chop the corn nuts and add to the serving bowl.
- Cut the cooled, blanched green beans into bite-sized pieces and then add to the serving bowl along with the sauteed corn. Toss everything together and taste, adding more lime juice if it needs some acidity, more hot sauce if you like more heat, or more olive oil for a richer side. Garnish with the nasturtiums (if using), which will add another dimension of peppery flavor. Shave the Parmesan over the whole dish, then serve.
- This salad will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 5 days. Over time the corn nuts will lose some of their crunch, so if you plan to have leftovers, I recommend leaving them off for people to add at will.