Food From My Friend: Corn Relish Salsa!

There are certain dishes I have a hard time resisting and my friend L's corn relish salsa is one of them. It's such a simple recipe and there's nothing out of the ordinary about it but if you give some to me with a bag of tortilla chips, well, I may share. Maybe.


Here's today's cast--the recipe calls for red onion but I had a Maui onion I needed to use. The recipe also calls for canned corn but I had some on the cob so I used that instead.


Canned blackeye peas are not always easy to find. I had to use the frozen variety today. I rinsed it in a colander to thaw it and I'm glad I did. There were several little twigs that got left behind in the processing.


If anyone knows how to get corn off the cob without making a total mess, let me know. You should see what ended up on the floor, on the counter...


I didn't feel like hauling out the Cuisinart today. It was a good day to chop. Since the chilies were already diced, I just worked on the onion and red bell pepper.


Half a cup of creamy French dressing and half a cup of zesty Italian vinaigrette, then everything gets tossed together.


The red onion would have added another spot of color to the mix. Next time.


It amazes me how much I tolerate large amounts of cilantro these days. Still wouldn't add it to soup or eat it by itself but in dishes such as this it's ok. This is a whole bunch, too.


I added black pepper but it really doesn't need salt if your goal is to eat it with tortilla chips.


And believe me, that is my ultimate goal when it comes to this! The texture of the peas was a bit firmer than canned but it still tasted reallllly good. Yum. I have made several versions that are similar to this but I think this is the one I like the most!

Here's the recipe:

Corn Relish Salsa

1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, drained
1 (15 oz) can white/shoe peg corn, drained
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 red onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed and chopped
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/2 cup French dressing

L's Notes:
I subbed in the green chiles; I believe the original recipe called for jalepenos. Also, FWIW the person who gave it to me wrote ‘Kraft Zesty Italian dressing.’

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kincaid's/Ryan's Grill-Style Pea Salad

Image
I was so sad when Ryan's Grill in Ward Centre closed down. For many years it was a favorite gathering place for both my family and my friends. Similarly Kincaid's, formerly Horatio's, at the now demolished Ward Warehouse was, too. I always ordered the pea salad that both restaurants served and have been wanting to re-create it. Today's recipe is the closest I've come! Today's cast! Sour cream, mayo, salt, and pepper are combined for the dressing. In the meantime, I put the frozen peas into a colander to help them thaw and drain. After that, it's just a bunch of chopping. Interestingly, the recipe mentioned that Hormel bacon bits work much better than bacon that has been cooked up and drained. Who am I to argue? I added the bacon bits to the dressing along with chopped water chestnuts and red onions. I de-stringed the Chinese peas. Sugar snap peas can also be used. The peas and pea pods were combined with the dressing, then I popped it into the fridge. The re
Read more

Anthony Bourdain's Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich

Image
I read, and own, all of Anthony Bourdain's books except Kitchen Confidential.  It seems like an odd omission considering it's the book that made him famous and brought to light a dirty side of the restaurant business that the public apparently loved hearing about, but no, for me, it was his first show, A Chef's Tour, followed by No Reservations,  that really made me a fan. Yes, the show was about food, but more importantly it was about the people who made the food and the places the food grew out of. That cultural and historical connection has always been the key factor in my own burgeoning food obsession. Bourdain was sarcastic and edgy but he was also intelligent, well-read and so adept at putting words together to unite the food with its people into an appreciative, thoughtfully crafted whole. His suicide in 2018 saddened me in a way I would never have anticipated. I decided that henceforth I would honor his influence on my culinary interests and every year, on his bir
Read more

Paul Hollywood's Mum's Ginger Biscuits

Image
So the Great British Bake-Off started up again a few weeks ago and I have been looking forward to the new episode that gets released every Friday. I'm very glad that this season is better from a bakers and baking standpoint; last season I didn't feel connected to any of the bakers and if they got eliminated, I didn't really care. There's a couple this year that I am at least finding interesting. Anyway, that is my long-winded way of saying I felt compelled to look at Paul Hollywood's recipe books to find something to bake. This recipe is his mum's and it is super-simple. It also involves golden syrup, which I happened to have gotten a couple of months ago and forgotten about. Soooo... Here's today's cast! Five ingredients for cookies--doesn't get much better than this! Butter, sugar and syrup are melted together on medium heat.  They melded nicely into a smooth and creamy mixture. I took the pot off of the heat and let it cool a bit. I didn't hav
Read more