Charred Sweetcorn, Black Bean and Avocado Salad with Lime Dressing

Ingredients

• 3 corn on the cob, husks removed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 1 jalapeño, finely chopped (seeds in for heat, out for mild)
• small bunch coriander, leaves and tender stems chopped
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 2 limes (about 4 tbsp)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• ½ tsp flaky sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• pinch of caster sugar
• 2 ripe but firm avocados
• extra squeeze of lime

Method

1. Get the BBQ or a griddle pan ripping hot — you want it smoking before the corn goes near it. A cool grill steams the corn instead of charring it, and steamed corn has none of the smoky-sweet edge that makes this salad sing.
2. Rub the cobs with the olive oil and season generously with the flaky salt — corn is sweet and needs salt to taste of itself. Lay them straight onto the bars in a single layer with space between each cob; crowd the grill and you'll trap steam where you want fire. Char hard, turning every 2 minutes or so, for 8–10 minutes total. You're looking for blackened, blistered patches on every side — not evenly golden, properly charred in spots. Those black bits are where the flavour lives.
3. While the corn chars, build the dressing in a large salad bowl. Whisk the extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, ground cumin, grated garlic, salt, pepper and pinch of sugar together. The cumin will bloom into the oil and lime when the warm kernels land in a moment — raw cumin tastes dusty, bloomed cumin tastes of itself. The grated garlic is going in raw, so keep it to one clove and make sure it's finely grated — no rough chunks to bite into and no chance of it scorching anywhere, since nothing here gets hot enough to burn it bitter. Taste the dressing: it should be sharp, savoury, with the sugar just rounding off the lime's edge.
4. Tip the drained black beans, red onion, red pepper, jalapeño and chopped coriander into the bowl with the dressing. Stir to coat. Letting the onion sit in the lime juice for a few minutes takes the raw bite off and turns it pleasingly pink.
5. When the corn is charred and cool enough to handle (about 3–4 minutes off the heat), stand each cob upright in a wide bowl and run a sharp knife down the sides to strip the kernels. The bowl catches everything and saves you chasing kernels round the kitchen. Tip the warm kernels into the salad and fold through — the residual heat blooms the cumin in the dressing and softens the onion just enough.
6. Halve, stone and cube the avocados last, just before serving — this is the rule. Score the flesh in the skin, scoop out with a spoon, then add a squeeze of lime straight over the cubes to stop them browning. Fold gently through the salad so the cubes stay intact rather than smashing into guacamole.
7. Taste, season, taste again. More salt? Another squeeze of lime? A pinch more cumin? Adjust now — at the end, not at the table — because once the cheese goes on top it's harder to correct.
8. Pile the salad onto a wide platter, crumble the feta or cotija over the top, scatter with extra coriander leaves, and tuck lime wedges around the edge. Serve with warm corn tortillas or tortilla chips and hot sauce on the side for everyone to build their own.