Corn, Avocado and Radish Salad

If your weather has been anywhere near as hot as what we've had in New Jersey this past week, turning on the oven to prepare dinner is about as appealing as donning a ski parka in a sauna.

Naturally, cold dishes like salads come to the rescue when the temperatures are too hot to cook, but not just any old "lettuce-and-tomato" cold salads.

I was inspired to make this after seeing something similar online from Helena, who goes by the handle @brat_h_ on Instagram.

Helena used grilled corn, and I heartily endorse that approach, although I had a leftover ear of boiled, but delicious, Jersey corn needing a home.

I added and deleted a few things from her dish, based on what I had on hand. One thing I didn't have was the chipotle powder she used, so I mixed a little paprika and cayenne together. I also subbed fresh oregano for the cilantro, since my husband isn't a cilantro fan, and we've got plenty of oregano flourishing in the garden. As you can tell, you can make the salad your own depending on what's available to you.

Scatter all the ingredients across a bed of mixed lettuces that have been seasoned with your favorite vinaigrette.

Then drizzle on some of the dressing and decorate with the red currants, if you can find them.

If not, try to find some tiny red cherry or grape tomatoes to give the dish a really festive look.

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Corn, Avocado and Radish Salad 

printable recipe here 

Ingredients for salad:

1 ear of corn, boiled or roasted, removed from the cob

 1 ripe avocado, sliced

2 red radishes, sliced thinly

1/2 green pepper, sliced thinly

red onion, sliced thinly

fresh red currants (if you can find them) 

mixed lettuces, dressed lightly with your favorite salad dressing (I like to use extra virgin olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, a little honey, a little Dijon mustard, plus salt and pepper.)

Creamy Dressing:

1/3 cup mayonaaise

1/2 cup sour cream

grated zest from 1 lime

juice from 1/2 lime

a sprig or two of fresh oregano leaves, minced

1/4 tsp. paprika

dash of cayenne pepper

salt, pepper

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together in a jar.

Toss the lettuces with a light amount of the oil and vinegar dressing (the creamy dressing will add another layer, so you don't want to overdo it on the oil and vinegar dressing). Arrange the lettuces on a platter, then place the rest of the ingredients on top of the lettuce, in an "artful" way.

Drizzle dabs of the creamy dressing on top.