Hominy Salad

You know how grocery stores do all sorts of tastings and giveaways for a grand opening?  Well, just to get things jump started here, we’re going to post TWO RECIPES for your allergy-free pleasure.  Both focus on fresh vegetables, given that it’s summer and even in New England things are fresh.

Hominy? What on earth is hominy?  That was my first reaction on reading a recipe in one of my mother’s stash of food magazines.  This was well before my gluten-free days, but it turns out that hominy is great for the gluten-free.  This is your new pasta salad for the summer days.

Hominy is corn.  More specifically, dried corn kernels exploded by being soaked in some sort of weak lye solution, common in Native American and Central American cooking.  It’s the corn kernel, but without the exterior “skin,” with a texture that reminds me a little of grits.

Hominy can be bought in cans, I’ve mostly found in the “ethnic foods” aisle of the grocery store (Goya brand is what I’ve found here).  It must be drained and rinsed, much like beans, and has a different, but really cool texture and flavor.  It absorbs the flavor of the dressing you make for it.

This salad should take advantage of the best of summer fruit and veg.  It’s best to adjust it according to what you can get good and fresh wherever you are just now.

Hominy Salad

Make dressing.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk:

• 2 teaspoons chopped basil (if you can’t get fresh, the frozen cubes work better in this than dried.  If you have to use dried herbs, some fresh parsley or even chives would go a  long way to preserving the “green” flavor of the salad)
• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (best quality you have)
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Set aside

In a medium bowl, mix:

• one 16 oz can of white hominy, drained and rinsed (yellow will likely work, too, but I’ve never seen it and never tried it)
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped small
• about ⅓ of an English cucumber, cubed
• 2-4 scallions, sliced

Add dressing, toss salad, and chill for at least an hour, to let the flavors meld.  Other vegetables could be added to this salad, depending on what’s fresh and best where you are, though this combination is pretty solid.

What summer foods do you miss from your pre-apocalypse days?  Maybe we can help.  If you try this recipe, let us know how it works.