Having extra grilled corn on the cob and spying a can of black beans buried in the pantry, I whipped up a spontaneous flatbread that channels smokey southwestern flavors (just speaking of Arizona).  A pre-made pita flatbread is layered with slices of heirloom tomato, avocado and topped with a zingy homemade black bean, corn, red pepper, cilantro, and lime salsa. I added grilled tofu to mine (and chicken to the other), then drizzled smoky chipotle sauce and green chilies (both from cans) on top.

The corn salsa can stand alone for chip dipping or the leftovers can be scrambled into eggs with extra hot sauce for breakfast. Since my husband isn’t a tomato fan, I left tomatoes out of the salsa recipe, but just added a sweet, juicy heirloom variety directly to my flatbread. That works fine for me, but feel free to add chopped tomatoes to the salsa. Be sure to adjust the salt and lime juice to taste.

Corn Black Bean Lime SalsaFor the salsa

  • 1 large ear of corn, grilled or roasted, cut off the cob
  • 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced to comparable size of corn
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional heat)

Mix all of the above ingredient together in a bowl. Adjust salt and lime to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

 

For the flatbread

  • 2 premade pita flat bread  (a.k.a. “pocketless pita”)
  • 1/2 heirloom tomato, sliced
  • 1/2 avocado, sliced
  • Pre-baked tofu*, seasoned with Penzeys Southwest Seasoning, quickly seared in olive oil to crisp it up. (or optional chicken, seasoned and seared the same way)
  • 1 tablespoon green chilies, diced – I used La Victoria  (can from Giant Eagle Market District)
  • Spoonful of smoky hot San Marcos Smoky Chipotle Sauce (can from Giant Eagle Market District)

Layer the flatbread with the tomatoes, avocado, and a few spoonfuls of salsa. Top it with tofu or chicken and drizzle on the sauce and chilies. I ate it open-faced with a fork and knife since the pita flatbreads didn’t bend in half easily. But I think this filling would work beautifully in a large soft taco shell, wrapped up like a burrito.

*I tend to press an entire block of tofu, cut it up, and bake in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes. It stores well in the refrigerator and can be easily added to salads, stirfries or flatbreads. I will sometimes marinate half of the tofu in soy sauce and ginger before baking.