Late Summer Favorites: Corn

Posted by Matt on August 19th, 2009 at 08:00am

The first day of corn season is a mini-holiday. As soon as the local farm stand starts selling fresh sweet corn, I immediately head over to buy ears of corn. The first bite of the season is a magical moment. Few foods compare in flavor and happiness to fresh sweet corn. Once you’ve eaten fresh corn, there is no turning back because non-fresh corn will never taste as good. Summer officially ends when the fresh sweet corn season ends.

I usually keep it simple when making sweet corn. Most of the time I eat it off the cob after cooking it on grill with the husk still on or in the microwave wrapped in wax paper. Another great option is to take a knife to the cob and take the kernels off. With fresh kernels, the cooking possibilities are endless. On humid summer days, I love taking fresh sweet corn kernels and adding them to salads. Here is my favorite summer salad recipe with fresh sweet corn, Summer Corn Salad.

This is the fourth part of a five-part series. To read part three, click here.  To see part two, click here. To read part one, click here.

Summer Corn Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus one teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 2 plum tomatoes, halved seeded and diced
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed
• 1 ear of corn
• 8 cup arugula
• 4 plum tomatoes, quartered
• 1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
• Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated

Instructions

1. Whisk oil, vinegar, basil, diced tomatoes, garlic and rosemary in small bowl until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat broiler. Brush corn with 1 teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil corn until crisp-tender and golden brown in spots, turning frequently, about 7 minutes. Cool.

3. Cut corn kernels off cob. Place corn in large bowl. Add arugula, quartered tomatoes and pecans to bowl with corn.

4. Toss salad with enough dressing to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with Parmesan.

Tags: In Season, seasonal, summer recipes, vegetable recipes

Under Vegan/Vegetarian Tags: In Season, seasonal, summer recipes, vegetable recipes