This is the perfect salad right now for so many reasons. First off, the star ingredient is fresh corn on the cob and that happens to be available right now and is just about the best thing ever. Second, you have to grill the corn, and what is summer without some grilling? Third; if you have any outdoor potluck-soire to attend, bring this and you will be very popular….even more popular then you already are. Fourth….it’s perfect for the 4th! Of July, that is, or any other day of summer while fresh corn is in season. And fifth (this is my favorite), sometimes it’s just not practical to be eating corn, on - the - COB. Definitely not in a summer party dress. Plus it’s just really, really good. Go start the grill.
What you need and what I did:
Hands on time for this is about 15 minutes, and fifteen minutes or so to grill the corn. Serves 4 - 6 . Note*
Begin by getting your grill nice and hot. While that is happening go ahead and husk 5 ears of sweet corn, taking care to get rid of the silks. Smear em up with a dribble of olive oil,
and place them on the grill. Keep an eye on them and turn them often, so you get a nice char but you don’t burn them.
This should take about ten to fifteen minutes, depending on your particular grill.
Remove them and let them cool until you can handle them….
and then strip those kernels off of the cob. There are gadgets out there that make the job pretty easy, but I find just running a sharp knife down the sides of your corn the old-fashioned way seems to do the trick just fine, even if it is a little messy! Gather up what hasn’t scattered all over the floor and place it into a bowl,
and add to it that container of cherry tomatoes you went ahead and halved while the corn was cooling down. Because you are smart like that.
Diagonally slice two or three green onions, and toss em in!
Then sliver up a nice bunch of fresh basil. You do that by sort of stacking the leaves and rolling them up like a cigar; then slice away! I used a pretty generous handful.
See that little pile of green on the right? That is some fresh thyme that I also happened to have. It is growing like crazy everywhere so if you can get your hands on some, throw some of that in too! Next take one clove of fresh garlic, and grate just half of it (use the whole thing and you will overpower the delicate sweetness of the fresh corn) as finely as you can. I used a microplane for this.
Squeeze the juice of one lime into a little bowl and add the grated garlic to that. Whisk in four tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Pour your dressing over the corn mixture and give it a gentle stir.
On top of that goes 8 oz or so of feta cheese. I used the kind already crumbled, but you can use whatever type you prefer. Now give this whole thing a mix, and maybe add another sploosh (about a tablespoon) of olive oil to round it all out.
Oh Yum! You can eat this straight away, or let it sit in the fridge overnight. It is perfect cold or room temperature.
Helloooo beautiful!
*Note: even though there is an avocado in the photo of ingredients I decided not to add that to the end product. This salad is perfect as is so save your beautiful avocado for some guacamole.
What you need to procure:
- 5 ears of corn, husks and silks removed
- 4- 5 (or more) tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme (if you can get it)
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 1 container of cherry tomatoes, halved
- the juice of one lime
- 1/2 of a fresh garlic clove
- 8 oz feta cheese (I use crumbled)
- generous bunch of fresh basil, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- Get your grill nice and hot. Drizzle some olive oil over your corn and give it a good smear. Grill your corn as evenly as you can on each side without burning, remove to cool.
- Remove the grilled corn from the cob and place in a bowl. Add the halved cherry tomatoes, fresh chopped thyme, fresh chopped basil and sliced green onion.
- Finely grate 1/2 of a clove of garlic and add to the juice of one freshly squeezed lime. Whisk in 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and pour this over the corn mixture. Toss gently.
- Add the 8 oz of feta cheese. Toss again. Drizzle with some extra olive oil to taste.
