From The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas Vegan
Serves 6-8
“This is a refreshing salad of bright colors and flavors – citrus, cumin, and cilantro with the sweetness of corn. It’s good as a tostada topping, in tacos, with black beans, and just fine on its own.”
2 Tbs. olive oil ¾ lb. zucchini (3 medium), cut in ½ inch dice salt to taste juice of 2 large lemons 4 medium ears fresh sweet corn (2 cups kernels) 1 Tbs. cumin seeds 4 cups cooked long-grain white rice ¾ cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves 1 large sweet red pepper, trimmed and cut in ¼ inch dice ½ cup diced roasted Anaheim chiles (canned Ortega chiles are OK) ½ cup thinly sliced green onion
Heat a tablespoon of the olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add the zucchini, lightly salted, and sauté it over very high heat, tossing and stirring constantly, until it is flecked with brown spots – about 7-8 minutes. Remove it from the heat, sprinkle about 2 Tbs. of the lemon juice over it, and toss again.
Plunge the shucked corn into boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then remove it and let it cool slightly before slicing the kernels off with a sharp knife. Heat the cumin seeds in a little skillet, stirring constantly, until they release a toasty aroma, then crush them in a mortar.
In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, corn, cumin seeds, rice, cilantro, diced red pepper, diced chiles, and green onions. Toss everything together with the remaining olive oil, and as much more lemon juice and salt as you like. Let the salad chill in the refrigerator, in a covered bowl, for about an hour.
