Tara Kitchen was founded by Aneesa Waheed and Muntasim Shoaib, who met in Marrakech, Morocco. After a whirlwind romance and a marriage in the shadow of the Atlas Mountains, the pair returned to Aneesa’s hometown of Schenectady. They began sharing their love of Moroccan cuisine and culture first at farmers’ markets and then with their restaurant. Aneesa also created a line of sauces available at the Niskayuna Food Co-op and Honest Weight. Here she shares her chef Josh Gabri’s take on Moroccan Corn Salad.
Ingredients
- 2 ears sweet corn, husked and cleaned
- Olive oil to taste
- Salt to taste
- Ras-el-hanout to taste (ras-el-hanout is a Moroccan spice blend available in specialty markets. Home cooks can substitute a combination of cumin, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and ground coriander)
- 1 sweet red pepper
- ½ small red onion, chopped small
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Moroccan Vinaigrette
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Fresh pomegranate arils
- ½ cup olive oil juice
- ¼ cup lemon
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Preparation
Lightly season shucked corn with olive oil, salt and ras-el-hanout. Grill over an open flame.
Lightly rub the pepper with olive oil and roast over an open flame until it has a very heavy char over its entire surface. Once charred, place on a plate and cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. Rub the charred skin off with a dry towel and rinse under cold water. Dice the roasted pepper into a size roughly the same as the corn kernels. Set aside.
Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.
Instructions
Mix corn, red pepper, onion and fresh parsley and dressing with the vinaigrette. Garnish with the cilantro and pomegranate.
