Thursday, August 11, 2011

Sweet Corn Salad

Nothing is a better representation of summer's bounty than biting into a freshly picked cob of sweet, juicy, crunchy corn. I am so lucky that I moved to Utah just in time for sweet corn season. Farmers are selling freshly picked corn cobs on a daily basis on the streets in my town. There are a million delicious ways to eat corn but here's one recipe that I love to make as a healthy side dish. No cooking necessary here - who wants to stand over the stove top in the summertime heat? Just some basic knife skills and a little marinating time and you're done!


Here are the ingredients you will need (serves 4-6):
  • 3 ears fresh corn, kernels removed from the cob (see below)
  • 2 poblano chiles, diced
  • 1/2 serrano chile, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tsp kosher salt

To remove the corn kernels from the cob, you'll need a sharp knife and a cutting board. Pull the husks off the corn and try to remove as much of the silk as possible. Looking at the corn, you'll see a pointed tip end and a flat stem end. If your corn cob has the stem attached, remove it with a knife or break it off by hand. Place the flat, stem end, onto a cutting board and use your finger tips to hold onto the very tip of the cob. Hold a sharp knife with your dominant hand and use light pressure to slice the corn kernels off the cob. Start from about 1 inch from your fingertips and use one long slicing motion to move toward the base of the cob. Rotate the cob until all the corn kernels have been removed. The corn kernels may fall and roll all over the cutting board. To minimize the mess and gain added stability, check out this great tip by Simply Recipes and use a bundt pan!

Place the above ingredients into a large bowl and mix together. Marinate the salad at least 1 hour, up to 12 hours in the refrigerator.

3 comments:

  1. These pictures are amazing!! I love the blue bowl. =)

    Is this salad very spicy from the serrano chile? If so, do you have a less spicy substitute?

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  2. Stacey, thanks for the picture compliments. This salad has a kick because of the serrano. If you want a less spicy version you could a) remove the seeds and membrane from the serrano, b) substitute jalapeno (seeded/membrane removed), c) leave out the chile. Even without the serrano this salad will have a mild heat because of the poblano peppers.

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  3. I love fresh sweet corn in salads--just got some from the CSA, so this looks like a good weekend project.

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