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Mexican-style Street Corn Salad with Cumin-dusted Pork Chops

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ashleychmcgee

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Oh my goodness, all of the colors and textures and flavors of this salad make me so happy! First, I must say that I have no authority to determine any authenticity of the salad being Mexican at all. I just love the toppings of Mexican Street Corn. I had a lot of the ingredients and a lot of veggies on hand and wanted to make a salad. I was thrilled with how it turned out. I hope that you like it too!

The dressing is so creamy and tangy with the combination of the mayonnaise, lime juice, crumbled Cotija cheese, cilantro and spices. Add in all of the crunchy lettuce, red cabbage, sauteed corn plus lots of other veggies, and it is just fun for your mouth. This is a great way to get your vegetables! The crispy cumin pork chops make delicious “croutons” on top for the added protein needed to make this an entree salad. Play around with the garnishes however you like – if something I put in there is not your favorite, feel free to swap things out. I just started thinking that I wish I had thought to top it with some roasted pumpkin seeds, but there is enough going on already, I suppose. This is definitely “live to eat” with a lot of chopping and sauteeing to do for a salad, but totally worth it, in my opinion.

You could easily make this vegan by using vegan mayo, vegan feta and obviously, not put pork chops on top! You would still have all the crunch factors and bright colors for a delicious salad.

I have some good pictures following the recipe to show you how to cut the romaine lettuce and red cabbage to get good chiffonade “ribbons” that are not too long, making it easier to eat. I also have a trick for how I make the corn easy to gather up once you cut it off the cob. Be sure to see the step-by-step process following the recipe card.

As always, I would love for you to subscribe and get my recipes emailed to you whenever I post. It would also be great to hear from you about how things turn out when you make them! Thanks so much for checking out my blog.

Mexican Street Corn Salad with Cumin-dusted Pork Chops

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • 1 cutting board
  • 1 Chef's Knife
  • 1 Measuring cup (cup size)
  • 1 set of teaspoons
  • 2 tongs
  • 1 whisk
  • 1 rubber spatula
  • 3 Medium-sized bowls (one for washing lettuce; one for dredge; one for making dressing then adding salad mix).
  • 1 Salad spinner (for drying the washed greens and/or the cilantro).
  • 2 Saute pans (one for pork chops & one for corn/asparagus – can wash the same one instead though).
  • 1 Plate lined with paper towels (for resting/draining the pork chops).
  • 1 Large, thin, clean kitchen towel (for cutting the corn off the cob to help reduce scatter).

Ingredients
  

For the Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup Cotija or Queso Fresco cheese (Crumbled)
  • 1/2 tsp Chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic salt
  • 1/4 cup Cilantro (minced or chiffonade); need more (1/2 cup extra) for garnish so prep all at once
  • 1/4 cup Fresh lime juice

For the Pork Chops:

  • 1/2 cup Avocado oil (or other cooking oil)
  • 1 pound Pork chops (4 each 1/2-inch chops)
  • 1 cup Cornstarch
  • 1 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1 tsp Ground Coriander
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1/2 tsp Onion Powder

For the Salad:

  • 4 ears Corn on the cob (can use 2 cups frozen but NOT nearly as delicious)
  • 1 bunch Asparagus (woody ends removed and stems/tips cut into 1-inch pieces – about 1-1/4 cups)
  • 1/4 cup Avocado oil (for sauteeing corn and asparagus)
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt (for sauteed corn and asparagus)
  • 1 tsp Black pepper (for sauteed corn and asparagus)
  • 4 cups Romaine lettuce (chiffonade – see pictures below)
  • 1 cup Spinach or Kale (fine chiffonade)
  • 2 cups Red Cabbage (chiffonade – see pictures below)
  • 4 each Campari or Roma tomatoes (1/2-inch pieces)
  • 1/2 each Red Bell Pepper (3/4 cup small 1/4-inch dice)
  • 1/2 each Red Onion (3/4 cup small 1/4-inch dice)
  • 1/2 cup Extra crumbled cheese (optional)
  • 1/2 bunch Scallions (finely sliced green and white parts)
  • 1/2 cup Cilantro (either whole leaves or 1/4 cup chiffonade)
  • 1 each Avocado (diced and seasoned with lime, salt, cumin, pepper)

Instructions
 

For the Salad prep:

  • Wash, dry and cut the Romaine lettuce into a chiffonade (see pictures).
  • Wash, dry and finely chiffonade the spinach or kale after removing stems.
  • Cut the red cabbage into chiffonade (see pictures).
  • Wash and dice the additional garnish ingredients: peppers, red onion, scallions, tomatoes.
  • Juice the extra lime juice (and also what you need for the dressing at the same time).
  • Crumble the extra cheese (also what you need for the dressing at the same time).
  • Wash, dry and cut the cilantro for both the salad and the dressing.
  • Prepare the avocado last and immediately season with lime juice, salt and cumin to avoid browning and to season.
  • Shuck and wash the corn on the cob, careful to remove any corn silks.
  • Cut the corn off the cobs over the kitchen towel (see pictures below).
  • Wash and remove the woody ends of the asparagus.
  • Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces.
  • Saute the corn and asparagus in 1/4 cup avocado oil; seasoning with salt and pepper; set aside.

Prepare the dressing:

  • In medium bowl, add the mayonnaise, crumbled cheese, lime juice, spices and cilantro.
  • Whisk until thoroughly mixed.
  • Leave in that bowl for now. Salad ingredients will be added to it when it is time to dress the salad.

For the pork chops:

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, kosher salt and spices.
  • Preheat the saute pan to a medium high temperature.
  • Dredge the pork chops in the seasoned cornstarch.
  • Add 1/2 cup avocado oil to the pan, so it heats in an even layer.
  • When the oil is hot but not too hot (not smoking hot), add the pork chops to the pan.
  • Cook until each side is a nice golden brown color and the chops are cooked through.
  • If you have thicker chops than 1/2-inch, you may want to place the saute pan in a preheated 350 degree oven to finish the cooking. The safe internal temperature for pork chops is 145 degrees.
  • When the pork chops are done, place them on a plate lined with paper towels to allow them to rest and drain any excess fat. Optional – season lightly with additional salt, if desired.
  • After they have rested about 5-10 minutes, you can slice them with the chef's knife on the cutting board into 1/2-inch strips to garnish the top of the salad once it is made.

Make the salad:

  • To the bowl with the dressing, add the romaine, spinach and red cabbage, as well as the sauteed corn and asparagus.
  • Using a pair of tongs, toss the salad greens with the dressing until well coated.
  • Divide the salad between four serving bowls.
  • Garnish the salads with the rest of the ingredients, including the crispy cumin pork chop strips, the diced bell peppers, red onion, tomatoes, scallions, avocado, crumbled cheese, cilantro and juice the tops with a squeeze of lime.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Salad “mise en place” or “everything in its place.” I love the Mardi Gras colors going on here.
Dressing “mise en place”
Pork chop “mise en place”
How to cut the cabbage:
First, cut in half through the core.
Cut the core out of one half.
Cut the half into four wedges.
Cut across the wedges to make short thin strips. This way you don’t get long pieces that make it hard to eat.
Pretty chiffonade ribbobns.
For the romaine, first remove the core.
Cut the head of lettuce in half lengthwise.
Then cut each of those in half again lengthwise.
Then, just like the cabbage, cut thin strips crosswise to make pretty chiffonade cuts.
The dressing is easy – just mix everything together until it is smooth.
After you shuck the corn wash the ears and make sure that all the silks are removed.
I stand the ears up and cut down vertically on TOP of a large clean kitchen towel to catch any stray kernels that fly when you are cutting the corn.
Then it is super easy to gather up the kernels in the towel without a lot of mess.
Mix the spices into the cornstarch for a seasoned dredge.
Dredge the pork chops in the seasoned cornstarch for a crispy and flavorful crust.
Cook the pork chops over medium-high heat until browned on both side and cooked through to a safe 145 degrees.
The sauteed corn and asparagus. Neither one takes very long to cook – should still be very fresh and bright in color.
Add the romaine, spinach and red cabbage to the dressing in the bowl and toss well to coat.
Add the cooked corn and asparagus to that blend and toss well. This is the base of the salad. Everything else is garnish on top so you can see all the colors.
Maybe a bit of Tequila or cold beer would accompany this one well. Enjoy!

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