Chayote and corn salad (Oaxacan raw vegetable salad)

Ingredients

• 2 chayote, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced or julienned
• 2 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut raw from the cob
• 200 g jícama, peeled, julienned
• 100 g radish, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2–3 serrano chiles or chiles de árbol, fine julienne or thin rings
• 60 ml fresh lime juice, squeezed to order
• 100 g queso fresco, crumbled
• 1 tsp fine salt, to season at dressing
• 4 sprigs fresh epazote, leaves torn

Method

1. 1
   Peel and seed the chayotes. Slice or julienne them thinly. Cut the corn kernels from the cob. Peel and julienne the jícama. Slice the radishes and cucumber thinly. Combine all vegetables in a bowl and hold at room temperature, undressed. The cut surfaces should look fresh and dry — no pooling liquid.
2. 2
   Immediately before serving, add the lime juice, salt, and chile rings or julienne to the vegetables and toss to coat lightly. This is where the dish lives or dies: the acid must meet the vegetables at the last possible moment — the lime begins softening the chayote and radish within minutes, and the essential crunch, once lost, cannot be recovered. The vegetables should be lightly coated, not pooled in dressing.
3. 3
   Tear the epazote leaves through the salad and toss once more. Crumble the queso fresco over the top without mixing it in. Serve immediately. The salad is ready when the surfaces glisten with lime but no liquid collects at the base of the bowl.