Beautiful day in Istanbul. After a good run, I took to the streets with my maxi, gym bag, and new point-and-shoot.

Istiklal, the main boardwalk in the city, was relatively quiet.

Roasted chestnuts anyone?

Wide-legged maxis are difficult to walk in, especially when it’s windy. My feet kept getting caught in the opposite leg’s pant.

Life can never get too bad when you have this view from your street.

As lovely as it all looks, it is indeed HOT. Burning hot.

But nights? Nights are nice. My apartment gets great circulation from front window to back window and is never too far a cry from a peaceful dinner.

Tonight it was all about the side salad. I wasn’t I the mood for greens—I wanted bulk, not leaves. Nothing hits the spot like a flavorful and fresh corn salad.

Raw Corn Dill & Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

– 2 cobs of corn

– 1/4 cup scallions, diced

– 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

– 1 tsp fresh ginger, diced

– 1 clove of garlic, diced

– 1 cup baby tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

– 1 red bell pepper, broiled, skinned and chopped

– 1 avocado, sliced

– juice of 1 lemon (or lime)

– 1 tsp salt & pepper, each

Serves: 2

Directions:

This side salad is essentially a simple toss of all the chopped, diced an sliced ingredients.

The only extra steps are involved with the corn itself and the red bell pepper. Let’s start with the corn. Remove the husks, wash, and then slice off the corn pieces!

Don’t dig too deep into the cob or you’ll cut off some unnecessary, hard-to-chew flesh.

Next chop the dill, scallions, ginger and garlic.

Slice the tomatoes in half, length-wise.

Toss all the chopped goods into the bowl with the corn.

Next comes the red bell pepper.

Definitely not the safest way to cook a red pepper…just the quickest! You can broil it in the oven on “high” until blackened. You want the skin to be burned completely. When it reaches that point, remove the pepper from the heat and cover it in a paper bag or with a hand towel, or even pop it into a sealed container—bottom line: seal it so it can sit in its own heat for 5-10 minutes. When you remove the pepper from its enclosed space, the burnt skin will rub right off with little effort, revealing a smooth and well-cooked surface.

VOILA!

Chop off the ends, open it up and remove the inner seeds and flesh.

Then chop.

Add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Add the juice of one whole lemon.

The avocado gives the dish a smooth, rich and creamy texture. It brings the healthy fat and the mellow texture to balance out the chewy corn.

Mix with salt & pepper.

AND SERVE!

The dill really makes this dish. It’s tangy, savory, creamy and chunky all in one. Perfect for the summer. It’s mostly raw, save for the red bell pepper, and a wonderful way to complement a main dish at a barbecue or simply eat on its own.

Bon appetit!

Aylin