Grilled Corn, Black Beans, and Quinoa with a Cilantro Lime Dressing

By ruthg

Serves 6 as a main course

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup dry blacks beans
• 2 corn cobs, grilled
• 1 tsp butter
• 2 poblano peppers, grilled
• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups of vegetable stock
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• DRESSING INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or creme fraiche
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 lime, squeezed
• 1 tsp honey
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp Tabasco Green Pepper sauce or any hot sauce
• GARNISHES
• queso fresco
• chopped cilantro
• hot sauce
• lime juice
• salt and pepper

Details

Adapted from flourishingfoodie.com

Preparation

Step 1

Soak the beans overnight in cold water, or in very warm water for 2 hours. Rinse the beans, and then bring them to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once the beans have begun to boil, reduce the heat to medium and boil for 1 hour. Drain and set to the side. If you want to save time, use canned black beans. Rinse and set to the side.

Shuck the corn, rub with butter, and then wrap in tin foil. Wash the poblano peppers. Turn the barbecue/grill to high. Place the corn on the grill and close the lid. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove a piece of corn and lift back the tin foil to check for black grill marks. If the corn looks sufficiently cooked, flip, and cook on the opposite side for 10 minutes.

A few minutes before you are ready to remove the corn, place the peppers directly on the grill. Grill until black, rotating every few minutes. Remove the corn and the peppers from the grill. Place the peppers into a plastic bag and seal. Once they have cooled, remove the skins, the center stem and the seeds. Chop the pepper and set to the side. Let the corn cool in the tin foil.

Rinse the quinoa a few times, thoroughly removing any of the bitter flavor. Place the quinoa and 2 cups of stock into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat and simmer until all of the water has evaporated. Fluff with a fork.

While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing by pureeing the chopped cilantro into a food processor with the yogurt, olive oil, lime juice, honey, salt, and Tabasco. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Remove the corn from the tin foil, and slice off the kernels.

In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, poblano peppers, quinoa, avocado and tomatoes and toss. Either add the dressing to the bowl, or plate and then drizzle the dressing on top. If you want to keep it in the fridge for leftovers, it is probably best to drizzle the dressing just before you are about to eat, otherwise it may get soggy. Add queso fresco, chopped cilantro, hot sauce, and lime juice as a garnish.