Even though Super Bowl is all about beer, meat and football, I thought we should have at least one healthy thing at our party. And I wanted it to be something delicious and interesting, not just a couple of wilty celery sticks shoved on the table at the last minute. Usually, I’d make this guacamole salad, but I had recently made this grilled vegetable salad from the Oh She Glows cookbook and loved it, so I thought it was a good choice.

It’s probably easiest to make this on an actual grill, but I made it inside, in a grill pan. Either way works.

Though the ingredients in this are pretty similar to the guacamole salad, I like how the grilling softens the peppers and zucchini, and the addition of corn makes it seem extra summery. You don’t have to add the black beans, but I figured a little extra protein is always a good thing.

You’ll want to wait until the last minute to add the avocado, because it turns a weird brown-ish color pretty soon after being exposed to air. But it’s an important addition — giving this salad a good dose of healthy fat and a bit of richness.

Grilled vegetable salad with avocado (Serves 6-8. Adapted from the excellent “Oh She Glows Cookbook”)
4 ears corn
Coconut oil spray
3 bell peppers (any color except green)
3 medium zucchini
1 can (or 2 cups) black beans
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 small clove garlic
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
1 teaspoon agave nectar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado
More cilantro, to garnish (leave this out if you hate cilantro, of course)

If cooking inside, preheat oven to 350F, and spray a grill pan with oil. If using a grill, heat the grill.

Rinse and clean off the corn, then spray it lightly with coconut oil and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Wrap each ear in aluminum foil and twist the ends so the ears are completely encased. Place the corn in the oven or on the top rack of the grill (whichever you’re using).

Rinse the peppers and remove the stems and seeds, then cut them into quarters. Also rinse the zucchini and cut each in half lengthwise. Spray the peppers and zucchini with oil and either place on the top rack of the grill or on a heated grill pan, cut sides down. (You likely won’t be able to fit everything on the grill pan at once, so you’ll have to do it in batches. Sorry.)

Cook the vegetables, flipping the zucchini and peppers every five minutes or so, until they are tender and a bit charred. This will likely take 10-15 minutes for the zucchini and peppers, but the corn needs to cook about 20 minutes, in the oven or on the grill.

Allow the vegetables to cool enough for you to handle them without burning your fingers (seriously, please wait), then chop up the zucchini and peppers into small-ish pieces and place them in a large serving bowl. Cut the corn off the cob and add it to the mix. Rinse and drain the beans and add them, too.

Add the olive oil and lime juice to a seperate small bowl, then mince the garlic and roughly chop the cilantro leaves and add them to that bowl. Add the agave and a little salt and pepper, then whisk to make a dressing.

Cut the avocado in half, then remove the pit. Cut the inside of each half into small-ish pieces, leaving the skin intact, then flip the skin or use a spoon to scoop the pieces out into the serving bowl**. Add the dressing and stir to coat all the vegetables. Garnish with more cilantro leaves and serve.

 

**If not serving immediately, make the salad and toss it with the dressing, but leave the avocado and extra cilantro leaves out until just before serving. Stir the salad again once more before serving, to coat the avocado in the dressing.