Name: Crunchy Heartland Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 18 min
Cuisine: Plant Based
Ingredients: 16 ounces frozen corn kernels, defrosted; 12 ounces frozen shelled edamame, defrosted; 1/2 cup toasted and salted sunflower seeds; 2 tablespoons vegetable (soybean) oil; 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (can be gluten free); 2 green onions, sliced diagonally; 2 (2-3 ounce) packages oriental style ramen noodle soup mix (can be gluten free); 1/2 cup feta cheese, optional (can be vegan)

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This is a picture of the updated version of the Crunchy Heartland Salad with plant based and gluten free ingredients.

This version of the Crunchy Heartland Salad with corn and edamame (soybeans), is updated so you can choose to make it gluten free and plant based if you like. It’s still the best of the Midwest!

Crunchy Heartland Salad with corn and edamame began as a family trek to Lake of the Ozarks!

Sometimes a recipe is inspired by things around us. Seasonal ingredients, a trip to the local produce store, what’s growing in our garden, family favorites and tradition. The recipe for Crunchy Heartland Salad came about from a family trip to Lake of the Ozarks! It’s a salad that we love to make when the corn is especially fresh, picked up at farm stands along the road or farmer’s markets. If you can’t find really good fresh corn, you can use frozen too.

Optimistic Garden Midwest Corn – we grow our corn right it our own backyard!

A trip through the Heartland

A while back our family was able to get away for a few days to Lake of the Ozark, Missouri. Lake of the Ozark is about 7 ½ hours southwest of Chicago (unless you take a detour to the Kosher Krispy Kreme donut store in St. Louis…the extra hour detour is definitely worth it!).

This is a view of the lake when visiting Lake of the Ozarks.

Lake of the Ozarks is so beautiful. Worth the drive through the corn and soybean fields!

The drive is through the heartland of the US, miles and miles of Midwest farmland. Corn growing on the right, soybeans growing on the left. Soybeans on the right, corn on the left. Corn on the right and left…you get the idea.

Corn on the left…

Soybeans on the right…

Soybeans on the left!

Corn on the right!

The Midwest is one of the primary suppliers of corn and soy worldwide, and driving through Illinois and Missouri you can see why. We also spotted some sunflower fields which were a sunny burst of color amidst the blanket of green.

There’s a salad in here!

Additionally, we saw a lot of livestock – cows, horses, and goats, grazing happily in the summer sun, and made sure to shout “COW!” every time we saw one (yes, we did shout “HORSE” and “GOAT” too).

COW!

With so much time in the car, and nothing but miles and miles of corn and soybeans as far as the eye could see, it shouldn’t be shocking that my husband and I started to talk about possible recipes that would incorporate all the crops that are harvested in the Midwest. The recipe would include corn, and soybeans (a.k.a. in fancier circles as edamame) of course, but could also include some of the other crops we saw like sunflowers.

We figured that some sort of salad could incorporate all of those healthy ingredients, in a colorful and delicious way – and so Crunchy Hearland Salad with corn and edamame (soybeans) was born. You can even top the recipe with some tangy feta cheese, made from either cow or goat milk (COW!). If you’re on a dairy-free diet you can use plant based (Midwest!) feta instead.

About the Crunchy Heartland Salad recipe

This recipe is super simple to make. You just go to the nearest corn, soybean and sunflower farm, pick what you need for the recipe, mix with the other ingredients and serve to your friends and family.

Did you know that if you’re really really quiet in a corn field you can actually hear the corn growing?!! I learned that visiting Dear Husbands family in rural downstate Illinois!

Ok, so it’s even easier than that, with frozen corn and edamame, vegetable oil (which is really soybean oil), scallions that I grow in the backyard (or that you can buy at the store), toasted sunflower seeds, a little vinegar, and ramen noodle soup mix all tossed together in a bowl. It’s incredibly crunchy and yummy.

A picture of midwest dairy cows. This is where dairy feta would come from.

So that’s where dairy feta comes from…COW! Or…potatoes if you’re eating Plant Based Feta! Yes…the car was moving!

Now if I only had a good recipe using Krispy Kreme donuts…I guess I’ll just have to sample them all to come up with a good one! Sigh…

Oh that Crunchy Heartland Salad with corn and edamame…here’s the recipe!

Crunchy Heartland Salad

Author: Sharon Matten - Kosher Everyday
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes
Category: Salad
Method: Tossing
Cuisine: Plant Based
Diet: Kosher

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Description

The Crunchy Heartland Salad with edamame and corn, is a flavorful, savory and crunchy Midwest grown Salad. Whether you make it the traditional way or gluten free/vegan, the choice is yours.

Ingredients

Units Scale

16 ounces frozen corn kernels, defrosted
12 ounces frozen shelled edamame, defrosted
1/2 cup toasted and salted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons vegetable (soybean) oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (can be gluten free)
2 green onions, sliced diagonally
2 (2-3 ounce) packages oriental style ramen noodle soup mix (can be gluten free)
1/2 cup feta cheese, optional (can be vegan)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
Set aside.
Open the ramen noodle soup mixes and remove the seasoning packets.
Place the ramen noodles on the prepared cookie sheet, then break into small pieces.
Toast in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes for traditional ramen and 5-6 minutes for gluten free ramen until the noodles are crisped.
Place the corn, edamame, sunflower seeds, and green onions in a large bowl.
Toss in the vegetable oil, rice vinegar and contents of the two seasoning packets making sure to evenly coat the vegetables, then add the toasted ramen noodles and toss to evenly distribute.
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
Serve topped with feta (optional) for a complete Midwest experience!

Notes

1. You can make this salad in advance, just don’t add the toasted ramen noodles until 30 minutes before serving.
2. Alternate method #1: Use the same amount of vegetable oil, corn, edamame, and sunflower seeds. Add ½ red onion, finely diced, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, chicken or vegetable flavored ramen noodle soup mix (can be gluten free). Proceed as directed above.
3. Alternate method #2: Cook 16 ounces of orzo (can be gluten free) according to package directions. Drain and cool. Blend ½ cup basil, ½ cup parsley, and 2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional), and ¼ cup vegetable oil in a food processor. Combine corn, edamame, and sunflower seeds in a bowl. Stir in orzo until thoroughly combined. Toss in blended basil mixture until orzo is completely coated. Served chilled.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 226
Sugar: 5.1 g
Sodium: 182.6 mg
Fat: 13.1 g
Saturated Fat: 4.9 g
Carbohydrates: 21.1 g
Fiber: 4.4 g
Protein: 10.2 g
Cholesterol: 8.3 mg

Keywords: Corn, Edamame, Vegan Feta, Gluten Free Ramen, Healthy Salad

The Original Crunchy Heartland Salad

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Crunchy Heartland Salad with Corn and Edamame

Crunchy Heartland Salad with corn and edamame began as a family trek to Lake of the Ozarks!

A trip through the Heartland

There’s a salad in here!

About the Crunchy Heartland Salad recipe

Oh that Crunchy Heartland Salad with corn and edamame…here’s the recipe!