Red Lentil Rotini Salad with Spicy Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 box Tolerant Red Lentil Rotini
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½” thick slices
• ½ orange bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 cobs yellow or white corn, shucked
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 serrano peppers
• 1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (1 packed cup)
• ½ medium avocado pitted
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions

1. Cook Tolerant Red Lentil Rotini according to package directions. Set aside to cool completely.
2. Prepare a hot grill fire, preheat a gas grill on high heat for 10 minutes with lid closed, or preheat a grill pan or indoor grill until hot. Lightly coat zucchini, bell pepper, and corn with 2 tablespoons of oil.
3. Grill vegetables, using a grill basket for bell pepper slices (alternatively, leave bell pepper half in one piece and grill directly on the grate, then slice after grilling). Turn the vegetables occasionally until lightly charred all over, then transfer to a cutting board to cool slightly.
4. While vegetables cool, make the dressing. Remove stems from serranos. For a spicier dressing, leave all seeds in. For a medium-spicy dressing, remove seeds from 1 of the serranos. For a milder dressing, remove seeds from both serranos. Roughly chop serranos.
5. In a blender combine serranos, cilantro, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, avocado, lime juice, cumin, salt, and ¼ cup water. Blend on high speed until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed.
6. Cut corn kernels off cobs. In a large bowl toss pasta with zucchini, bell pepper, corn, and dressing to taste. Serve immediately.
7. Enjoy!