If going sugar free is important to you, you can sub in chili powder to taste for the chipotle peppers.
For cooking the sweet potato noodles: you’ll notice a visible texture change when they’re ready – they just sort of relax into the pan instead of being so stiff. You don’t want them to be overly mushy but you also don’t want them to be rock hard and crunchy. Somewhere in between is perfect. For me, 5-ish minutes was about right.
For cooking the corn: this can do a number on your skillet, so make sure you’re using a high quality pan – either nonstick or a really well seasoned cast iron. The idea is to DRY roast them without oil or butter. They don’t get as browned and roasty if you have to put butter or oil in the pan. Also, the less frequently you stir, the more browned they’ll get. I used a nonstick and the bottom of the pan got a little brown but washed out very easily.
I so badly wanted this salad with Cotija cheese, but alas, we didn’t have any and I was too lazy to drive out and get some. Please, someone, PLEASE add a fat handful of that crumbly, salty Cotija to this and report back. I might cry little tears of jealousy but I’ll be so happy for you.
