Spicy Tofu Tacos with Corn & Black Bean Salsa

For me, corn on the cob = summer. Growing up, my siblings and I always eagerly shucked ears of corn in our backyard while my Dad started the grill. Now, I eagerly await corn on the cob season – shucking the ears of corn remind me of happy dinner memories with my family.

Luckily for Z and I, our last few weeks of our CSA box have included several ears of corn. The first week, we boiled the corn and slathered the cobs with olive oil, Parmesan cheese and chili powder. But last week, we didn’t get to use the corn as early as we would have liked to. We were having friends over from out of town on Saturday, so I used up the fresh corn in a refreshing, spicy salsa.

Corn & Black Bean Salsa

Yields: About 6 servings

-1 cup fresh corn

-1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

-1/2 large red onion, diced

-1 red bell pepper, diced

-2 tsp. minced jalapenos (I used canned)

-1 tsp. minced garlic

-1 tsp. cumin

-1 tbsp. chili powder

-Salt and black pepper, to taste

-1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

-Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1.) Place corn, black beans, onions, bell pepper, jalapenos and garlic in a large bowl. Season with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

2.) Add cilantro and lime juice; stir to combine. Cover bowl with saran wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving (this salsa can also sit in the fridge overnight). Serve over tacos, or simply with tortilla chips.

This makes a good amount of salsa, so our friends only made a small dent in the bowl. On Sunday night, Z and I used up the remainder of the salsa for some spicy tofu tacos. I simply drained a block of extra firm tofu, and sliced it into ½-inch thick strips. I made a quick marinade of lime juice, fresh cilantro, a few canned jalapeno slices, salt and pepper, all pulsed together in my food processor. I marinated the tofu for about 20 minutes (please do longer, if time allows), and then seasoned the tofu slices liberally with chili powder and cumin. Then, I pan fried the tofu with some olive oil until it turned brown and crispy (about 10 minutes total). We enjoyed the tofu in crispy taco shells with some shredded Mexican blend cheese and the corn and black bean salsa.

This was an easy and delicious way to use up the leftovers we had.

What food = summer for you?

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