A perfect side dish salad, inspired by my favourite Mexican flavours

**prep time** 10 mins
total time 20 mins
**serves** 4

Mexican food is a huge favourite in our household, especially as there are so many plant-based recipes and options! One of my favourites is this side dish, inspired by ingredients that I love to use when cooking Mexican food. Fried corn, chillies, tomatoes, garlic, red pepper, coriander, and lime all come together to make this perfect side salad.

For the salad you’ll need:

Corn on the cob
Garlic
Olive oil
Red chilli
Spring onions
Red pepper
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber, diced
Apricots, chopped (optional)
Lime
Coriander and/or mint

This salad tastes great with the final addition of:

Lime
Garlic
Chilli flakes
Red chilli
Lime wedges
Pomegranate seeds

First prep the cob by cutting off the corn from the husk, adding to a pan with olive oil and garlic, and frying until golden. Listen to the sizzle as you prep the rest of the salad, adding all of the chopped ingredients to a large bowl.

Mix up your dressing ingredients, zest in a lime, and add into the bowl with the fried corn. Top with some pomegranate seeds, extra herbs, and sliced chilli. Enjoy by itself, or as a side dish to a BBQ, fajitas, quesadillas, or other Mexican favourites.

INGREDIENTS

2-3 corn on the cob
1 garlic clove, grated
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 red chilli, roughly chopped
Bunch of spring onions, sliced including green bits (you could also use a red onion, finely chopped)
1 red pepper, chopped
200g cherry tomatoes, cut in small chunks
Half a cucumber, diced
2 tbsps dried apricots, chopped (optional)
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Small bunch of coriander/mint

Dressing

Zest & juice of a lime
1 garlic clove, grated
Sprinkle of chilli flakes to taste, optional
Salt & pepper

To serve

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced, or jalapeño chillis from a jar
Extra lime wedges
A handful of pomegranate seeds sprinkled over

METHOD

Cut the corn from the husk. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil, add the garlic and cook for 30 secs, then add the corn. Fry the corn on a medium to high heat, stirring occasionally golden and slightly charred. Add salt & pepper, stir in and cook for about 30 secs more. Remove from the pan and place the corn in large bowl.
Whilst the corn is frying, make the dressing. Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk lightly to emulsify. Put to one side.
Chop and add the rest of the ingredients to the large bowl with the corn, and stir to combine.
Pour over the dressing, stir through and serve with the sliced chillies, pomegranate seeds, and extra lime wedges

notes

You can reduce the heat of this recipe by reducing the amount of chilli used - or leaving out altogether - though I definitely recommend as it really creates a lot of the flavour.
The pomegranate is an optional extra, as this isn’t always a budget-friendly option for a recipe. But it’ll still be ultra yum without!