Corn and Green Bean Salad With Tomatillo Dressing

Name: Corn and Green Bean Salad With Tomatillo Dressing
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves six generously
Ingredients: 1/4 pound fresh tomatillos, husked; 1 small serrano or 1/2 jalapeño chili; 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice; 10 cilantro sprigs; 1 tablespoon chopped onion, soaked in cold water for five minutes, drained and rinsed; 1 garlic clove, peeled; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; Salt to taste; Kernels from 2 ears corn; 3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut in 2-inch lengths about 3 cups; 1 large or 2 medium tomatoes, cut in 1/4-inch dice; 4 radishes, cut in half lengthwise then sliced thin in half-moons; 2 tablespoons minced chives; Lettuce leaves for the platter or bowl; 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco (1 ounce)

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 5(99)
Notes: Read community notes

In a great end-of-summer salad, this tomatillo dressing has a delicate and wonderfully herbal flavor. The salad is all about texture and color.

Featured in: Cooking With a Mexican Favorite, the Tomatillo

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves six generously

For the Dressing

¼pound fresh tomatillos, husked
1small serrano or ½ jalapeño chili
1tablespoon fresh lime juice
10cilantro sprigs
1tablespoon chopped onion, soaked in cold water for five minutes, drained and rinsed
1garlic clove, peeled
3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

For the Salad

Kernels from 2 ears corn
¾pound green beans, trimmed and cut in 2-inch lengths about 3 cups
1large or 2 medium tomatoes, cut in ¼-inch dice
4radishes, cut in half lengthwise then sliced thin in half-moons
2tablespoons minced chives
Lettuce leaves for the platter or bowl
¼cup crumbled queso fresco (1 ounce)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

For the Dressing
1. Step 1
  Preheat the broiler. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place the tomatillos on top, stem side down. Place under the broiler at the highest rack setting and broil two to five minutes, until charred on one side. Turn over and broil on the other side for two to five minutes, until charred on the other side. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender, tipping in any juice that may have accumulated on the baking sheet. Add the chili, lime juice, cilantro sprigs, onion, garlic and olive oil to the blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust salt, and set aside.
2. Step 2
  Steam the corn kernels (or steam the entire ear, then cut the kernels off) and beans above one inch of boiling water for five minutes, until tender. Remove from the heat, refresh with cold water and drain on paper towels. Place in a bowl and toss with the tomato, radishes, chives and the dressing. Line a platter or wide bowl with the lettuce leaves, top with the salad, sprinkle on the crumbled cheese and serve.

Tip

Advance preparation: You can prepare the dressing and the salad several hours before serving, but don’t toss together until ready to serve. Refrigerate in separate bowls.

Ratings

5 out of 5

99 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Bonnie6 years ago

My dressing tasted a little on the bitter side. Did I roast the tomatillos too much?

Martha Rose Shulman6 years ago

Sorry about this omission; will correct. I would use a small serrano chile or 1/2 of a big jalapeño.

Greg Pyke1 month ago

I too added farro to make this salad a full meal. We don’t like spicy so I started from scratch on the dressing, using lime, balsamic, mustard, olive oil and the liquid scraped from the cobs after the corn kernels were removed. The combination of textures and flavors and the summer veggie goodness make this a winner.

Leslie11 months ago

Added farro to make it a meal. The veg were way overdone at 5mns. Next time I’d do 2 or 3.

franklind2 years ago

Pretty tasty, but I'd rather do something else with all of these ingredients

Neta4 years ago

Amazing salad. I doubled the amount to fit a bigger crowd. Got tons of praises

Bonnie6 years ago

My dressing tasted a little on the bitter side. Did I roast the tomatillos too much?

Mike6 years ago

It's not the end of summer and the green beans at the store were not worth the buying, so I subbed canned (drained & rinsed ) black beans. It was pretty darn good.

Carey Kirk6 years ago

Since the recipe omitted what type of chili, I would be interested in knowing what type of chili Ms. Shulman intended.
Andree's use of chipotle in adobo sounds great- the smoky-ness would be nice so I may just run with that the next time around.

Martha Rose Shulman6 years ago

Sorry about this omission; will correct. I would use a small serrano chile or 1/2 of a big jalapeño.

Andree6 years ago

The recipe did not include what kind or how much chili to include, so I used one tablespoon (ish) of Chipotles en adobo.

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