Charred Corn Summer Salad
August 3, 2016 
This is one of my favorite summer salads. With sweet corn coming into season and tomatoes and peppers just around the corner, this is a great Farmer's Market dish. The dressing that I make for this makes the salad bright and crisp. It's easy to feed a crowd with this.
I like to grill the corn first in its husks and then char it. I leave the corn in its husks and soak it in water for about 30 minutes. This allows the corn to steam on the grill first before pulling back the husks and giving the corn a final char.
For the sweet peppers, you can use any sweet pepper you like but I am really loving the mini sweet peppers right now for raw dishes - you can slice them into such nice little rings.
Tweak this recipe any way you like - if you want more tomatoes and not so many peppers, just adjust the amounts. Use any cheese you like - I'm using feta in this version, but I've used other cheeses, including goat cheese and ricotta salata or even asiago cheese.
The dressing uses white balsamic vinegar, which just has such a nice bright acidity to it and doesn't darken the salad like a regular balsamic. I hope you give it a try.
ceramic plates from Fifty One and a Half
Charred Corn Summer Salad
for a printable recipe, click here
serves 8
salad:
4 ears of sweet corn, with husks still on
½ cup diced red onion (about ½ of a medium onion)
2 cups of sliced sweet peppers (I like the mini peppers, sliced into rings)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup feta cheese (you can use goat cheese, ricotta salata, etc. or any tangy cheese)
2 cups fresh arugula
dressing:
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoons Montreal Steak Seasoning (use can just use pepper, but I like to use this because of its robust flavor)
¼ teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
Soak corn, in the husks, in water for about 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the onions, sweet peppers and tomatoes together.
Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing in a measuring cup and set aside.
Light a grill and set it to medium high heat. When the grill is hot, place the soaked corn on the grill. The husks will keep the corn moist and steam the corn. Grill the corn for about 12 - 15 minutes, rotating the ears every few minutes with tongs. The husks will become charred - that's okay.
Remove the cooked corn from the grill. Keep the grill lit. Wearing a grill or oven mitt, hold each ear and carefully pull back the husks with a pair of tongs. The silk of the corn should just slide off, also. Pull the husks back to create a "handle". Place the corn back on the grill and cook until the corn is nicely charred, using the husks to turn the ears over.
soak the corn in their husks for 30 minutes.
place them right on the grill and cook for about 12 - 15 minutes
pull back the husks after you have grilled the corn . . .
and place them back on the grill until they are nicely charred
Remove the corn from the grill and with a sharp knife, cut off the kernels. Add these to the other vegetables in the bowl. Add the feta and the dressing and toss. Add the arugula right before serving and toss again. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. Serve at room temperature.
Reader Comments (17)
I love this!
I love basil in my tomato and corn salad. Not to mention, it is always in over-abundance at the height of tomato season! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful salad, Elaine! A feast for the eyes and the palate. Corn just tastes better when it's grilled, doesn't it? All I want to eat are salads and yours is a complete meal in itself. Hope all is well with you and your summer is going great! Thank you for sharing a great recipe. Buona giornata!
Looks great! I have a bag of these mini peppers and was wondering what to do with them. Now I know!
This looks and sounds great! The only problem for me is that I don't have a grille. Any alternative suggestions for getting that char on board?
I love everything about this, charred corn is so smokey and delicious, and arugula has got such great flavor!
Wow! I'll try to cook it! It might be great as to my taste. Should I necessarily use grill for it?
Absolutely beautiful! I was so excited to see a new post. I check daily for them! Dale, we do have a grill, but sometimes getting home later doesn't lend itself to firing it up, and it's charcoal at that. I've charred some things in a dry black cast iron skillet before. Works really well!
Myt new favorite summer salad! Was able to use locally grown corn, multicolored sweet peppers and red and yellow grape tomatoes. Wouldn't change a thing. It's absolutely delicious and will go with any protein. Thank you, Elaine!!!
The combination of these ingredients gives a very unusual taste. It is important to bring the corn to the desired condition. Then it turns out very tasty salad.
essay help
I'm retiring soon and can't wait until I have more time to make some (most) of these recipes! Thank you!
Oh, I loveItalian food because as well as Chinese on they have a lot of vegetables in any recipe. Follow the link and I will share with you the favorite one.
Elaine - Thanks for sharing all your delicious recipes! Hope to see even more vegetarian ideas in the future!
Elaine, love the look of this salad. When do you remove the silk off the corn? Before you grill, after you grill before charring the kernels, etc..? Thanks!
From The Italian Dish:
Kim: It's in the recipe! The silk comes off when you remove the husks! When you remove the corn from the grill, you slide back the husks and silks and then char the ears on the grill. Hope this helps.
At first you need to continue the topic raised and then think about other one. Thanks a lot for the website.
This dish is so exclusive... By the way, I like salads with corn and spices. I think that the dish is really very tasty. Thank you and keep writing.