Lyndigo Spice® Carmen’s Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
My cousin Carmen and I were born a month and fifteen days apart. We are practically sisters and very close; which meant a lot to me when we lost Rachel. Carmen is an amazing cook in her own right. She has tasted and tested everything I have ever attempted to make. She uses Lyndigo Spice® products in every meal she cooks. I stayed with her and her family for a week and tested recipes for this cookbook; breaking in their new appliances in the house they had just purchased for her fiftieth birthday. While I was there, she was telling me how she used the spice rub in a Mexican street corn pasta salad with bacon that she made a few weeks prior. She had me at bacon. We made the salad and it was delicious. She was more than happy to share it with me and now YOU!
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups fire roasted local corn.
2 tbs light olive oil
½ medium red onion, diced small
½ box orzo pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed
10 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
2 bunches (about 3 ounces) organic cilantro, rinsed, drained, spun in salad spinner and chopped fine
3 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and deveined
1 can organic black bean, rinsed and drained
2 tbs fresh organic mint, chopped fine
2 packages nitrate free smoked bacon (optional)
1 cup avocado, diced and tossed lightly in 1 tbs fresh lime juice
Directions:
Cook bacon in preheated 350° oven on rack in shallow pan until crisp, not burnt. Let cool and chop fine. You should yield about a cup of chopped cooked bacon.
Remove husks and fibers from corn. Rub with oil, sprinkle with one tablespoon of spice run and place on hot grill. Keep turning with tongs until corn is charred lightly.
Remove corn from grill and let cool. Once cool, slice kernels from the cob in a shallow pan.
In a large bowl, add all ingredients except bacon and avocado. Mix all well and season to taste. Add more spice rub if needed.
Add bacon, avocado and lightly toss with lime vinaigrette or Carmen’s dressing. See following recipes.
Enjoy!
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