Reckless Abandon: Light, Fiery Black Bean, Roasted Corn and Jicama Salsa

This another recipe from new favorite cookbook, Skinny Dips. I was afraid to use the seeds and ribs from the serrano chile because I had a bad experience once. In hindsight it probably could have used the full kick of the entire chile. I guess I should have listened to Diane :) This is a great light and fresh dip for chips or a topper for turkey burgers. That's what I did with the leftovers!

Ingredients:

-1 large (or 2 medium) ear of fresh corn, husk on

-2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

-1 1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt

-freshly ground pepper

-juice of 2 limes

-1 tsp ground cumin

-1 tsp ground coriander

-2 tsp packed brown sugar

-1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

-3/4 cups peeled and diced jicama

-1/4 cup diced red onion

-1 serrano chile, including seeds and ribs, finely minced

-2 green onions, sliced

-1/3 cup chopped cilantro

First, you need to clean the corn and throw it on the grill for a bit. Turn the grill to med-high heat. Peel the first few layers of corn husks from the ear of corn leaving the closest husk layer connected to the ear. Pull out and remove the silk strands the best you can.

Lightly brush the corn with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold the attached corn husks back over the seasoned corn and tie with a leftover corn husk that you tore off.

Throw the corn on the grill and put the lid on. Grill for about 10 minutes, rotating every couple minutes. Remove from the grill and let cool on a plate.

Use a knife or an AWESOME Kuhn Rikon corn zipper from William Sonoma to remove the corn from the cob. Throw in a medium or large mixing bowl to get the salsa started.

Add the jicama to the bowl.... What the heck is a jicama you ask?? Well it's my first time cooking with it as well, and I had a wonderful experience! Get out of your box and give it a chance, too. Jicama is a tuberous root vegetable. The root's exterior is yellow-brownish and papery, while its inside is creamy white with a crisp texture that resembles raw potato. The flavor is sweet and starchy. (definition from Wikipedia here)

Add the drained and rinsed black beans, diced red onion and diced serrano chile to the bowl. Depending on your tolerance to spiciness you can choose to include or remove the seeds and ribs of the chile (this is the hottest part). Regardless of your choice you should wear latex or rubber gloves when working with these chiles because no matter how much you like heat, no normal human likes it in their eye or heaven forbid somewhere else. Don't think washing your hands quickly will rid yourself of the spiciness, those oils seep into your skin and can stay for awhile.

Now make the dressing in a smaller bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, cumin, ground coriander (I only had whole, so I used a mortar and pestle to grind it up), brown sugar, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp olive oil. Pour over the salsa in the medium bowl.

Lastly, toss in the chopped green onion and fresh cilantro leaves.

If you just can't wait and have to devour some of this immediately with chips, I won't judge. I did the same thing. But, if you cover and cool in the refrigerator for about an hour (or more) the flavors will meld and taste fabulous! The jicama in particular will have a nice blend of its natural sweetness, citrus kick and heat from the chile. This is a great summer salsa to top on fish or burgers!!