Mexican Pasta Salad

Christmas tamale week. I made them Saturday and Sunday, same as last year, Rosa's recipe. The kitchen smells like ancho and guajillo and toasted corn husk — a specific smell that is now inseparable from Christmas, from Rosa, from the project of carrying forward something that matters. Six dozen exactly. Terry came over Sunday and helped with the final stage, the folding and tying, which goes faster with two people and also transforms the kitchen into a companionable space, the way shared work does when it is not work you are obligated to but work you have chosen because it connects you to something.

First Christmas without Rosa. I want to say that again because I want to be honest in this journal about what the year was. We lost Rosa in June. She is in the tamales. She is in Terry making the triple batch of posole. She is in the Mexican hot chocolate that Hannah makes on Christmas Eve now, carrying Rosa's recipe forward the way I carry Rosa's tamales. She is in the kitchen even when she is not in the room. That is the function of food in this family: the dead cook alongside us. We set a place for them with every dish we make from what they taught us.

Danny ate well at Christmas. He had a good day — one of those unpredictable good days where his body decides to cooperate more than expected. He ate three tamales and two bowls of posole and he stayed at the table until eight o'clock, which I noted and held onto. He called me over before we left and he put his hand on the back of my neck, the way he used to do when I was a kid, and he said: "Good Christmas." Two words. I said: "Good Christmas." He nodded and I hugged him, carefully, because you have to be careful now, and I went home.

Kai's four and a half and he knows Christmas. Luna is twenty months and she knows tamales. They both went to sleep Christmas night full and contented and I sat in the living room afterward and I was grateful in the specific way you are grateful when you have been paying attention to what you have, which is: you know exactly what it is and you know it is not guaranteed and you are grateful for it right now, tonight, while it is here.

We don’t put Rosa’s recipes away after Christmas — we carry them forward into January and February and every ordinary Tuesday that needs a little anchoring. This Mexican Pasta Salad lives in that same flavor world as the tamale kitchen: the cumin, the chili heat, the brightness of lime cutting through everything rich and heavy. It’s the kind of dish I make when I want the feeling of that Christmas table without the six-dozen-tamale production, when I want Danny and the kids and Terry to sit down and feel, even on a Wednesday, that we are still cooking from the same place Rosa left us.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

12 oz rotini or penne pasta
1 cup corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or roasted)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until combined.
Combine the salad. Add corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, and jalapeño to the pasta. Pour the dressing over the top and toss well to coat everything evenly.
Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors meld. This salad improves as it sits.
Finish and serve. Just before serving, fold in the diced avocado, cilantro, and cotija cheese. Taste and adjust lime juice, salt, or chili powder as needed. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mexican Pasta Salad — Rosa’s Kitchen Carries On