Amaranth & Avocado Salad. This Mexican inspired tortilla salad is fresh and flavoursome, great for a summery feast.
Serves 8
2 cups corn masa flour
(available at wholefood stores)
½ cup amaranth
4 squid tubes, cleaned
½ tsp hot paprika
4 corn cobs, husks removed
250g tomatillos or coloured cherry tomatoes
400g black beans
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 lemon, juice only
1 cup flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
2-3 limes, coriander leaves,
to serve
Avocado & Green
Chilli Sauce
2 avocados, peeled, stone removed
2 tsp dark brown sugar
2 green chillis, deseeded
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 large bunch coriander
leaves only
½ cup lime juice
1 cup olive oil
Combine corn masa flour, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and amaranth seeds with enough water to make a soft dough.
Bring the dough together in a bowl. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Roll into walnut-sized balls. Place each ball between two sheets of baking paper and press until flat.
Cook each tortilla on a grill plate or heavy-based frying pan. Cover cooked tortillas with a clean dry tea towel, and set aside.
To make avocado and green chilli sauce, place avocados, brown sugar, green chillis, cider vinegar, coriander leaves and lime juice in a food processor and blend until well combined. Drizzle in olive oil and allow the mix to emulsify.
To prepare squid tubes, slice them up the centre and lay flat, outside of tube facing down. Trim away any stringy membranes. Use a sharp knife to slice diagonal lines across the squid, creating a diamond pattern. Sprinkle surface of squid with salt and smoky paprika.
Heat grill plate or a heavy-based frying pan with oil. Grill corn until the kernels are beginning to char. Use a sharp knife to cut away the kernels on the husks.
Slice tomatillos or tomatoes. Drain black beans and season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Toss together black beans and tomatoes with freshly chopped flatleaf parsley. Set aside.
On the hot grill plate or heavy-based frying pan, cook the squid pieces for 1-2 minutes, turning all the time. Remove to warm plate to rest.
To serve, place corn flat tortillas on a platter. Top with bean mix, grilled corn, squid and chilli sauce. Garnish with coriander and lime wedges.
NOTE Amaranth has a long and colorful history in Mexico and is considered a native crop in Peru. They certainly knew what they were doing harvesting amaranth as it contains more than three times the average amount of calcium and is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.