Grilled Corn Summer Salad

Grilled Corn Summer Salad is part 2 in the Trio of Summer Salads.  To see part 1 click here.  Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of the array of wonderful vegetables that are in season.  I love to pick up fresh fruits and veggies from our local farmer's market.  The bounty of goods we brought home were the inspiration for this and the other salads in our trio. 

Grilled Corn Summer Salad is tasty and easy to  make.  We grilled our corn and some sweet onions on the barbecue.  But you could easily cook your corn indoors on a grill pan or even in a regular non stick pan.  I love the addition of the smokey grill flavor in the salad.  The other ingredients in this salad were inspired by what was fresh from the market, but you could easily use other veggies or fresh herbs that inspire you.  Maybe some roasted red peppers or cilantro and minced jalapeno?

This salad is sweet, simple and light.  It would make a great side dish for your next summer BBQ!  The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled depending on the size of your crowd.  Enjoy!

Up next in the final part of the Trio of Summer Salads is Tomato Salad with Basil, Goat Cheese and Balsamic Reduction. 


Grilled Corn Summer Salad

Serves 3-4 small portions

3 ears white or yellow fresh corn, husks and silk removed (we used white corn)
1 inch thick slice from a large sweet onion (any other onion type is fine too)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chiffonade of basil (chopped into long thin ribbons)
1/2 cup grape or small cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Juice from 1/2 lime (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon melted butter
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Olive oil

Preheat your barbecue to medium/high heat.  Rub olive on husked corn and onion to lightly coat. Note: we grill a whole onion cut in 1 inch thick slices and use the extra onion for other meals during the week.  Place onion on the grill turning every few minutes until tender and lightly charred.  At the same time place corn on your grill and cook on all sides turning every couple of minutes, for about 10 minutes.  Once the corn onion are nicely browned from the grill remove and set aside to cool.Once corn is cool enough to handle use a large chef's knife to slice off the bottom where the husk was attached so that corn stands up flat when turned on it's end..  Position your ear of corn standing in a wide somewhat deep bowl and use a sharp knife to slice off the kernels as closely to the cob as possible.  The corn tends go flying and the bowl catches the strays.  Repeat with all your ears of corn.

If you don't have a barbecue you can use a grill pan following the same instructions above.  Or you can cut the raw corn off the cob (getting as close the cob as possible to extract all the sweet corn nectar) and heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a non stick pan on your stove stop to medium/high heat.  Saute the raw corn in the pan, stirring occasionally, until it is cooked through and some of the corn looks lightly browned.  You can put the onion in the pan at the same time as the corn and flip using a spatula, cooking until onion is tender all the way the through and lightly browned.

Chop the grilled onion into 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces and add to the corn.  Add the tablespoon of melted (still warm) butter and stir to evenly distribute.  Add chopped green onions, basil, tomatoes and lime juice and stir.  Season with salt and pepper to your taste.  Add additional lime juice if you like a little more acidity. 

Serve at room temperature.