Barbeque season is upon us, and that means one thing: you’ve gotta have at least one go-to recipe to bring to those summer gatherings! After hunting through many a saved recipe last weekend, I stumbled on this Cilantro Corn Salad that I had bookmarked a while back. I decided to give it a try.
I had a bunch of cilantro leftover from my chimichurri recipe, and this seemed like the perfect way to use it up. Plus, who doesn’t love corn in the summer? I followed the original recipe as a guideline, while making my own adjustments along the way. I did equal parts corn and cucumber, eliminated the tomatoes (I didn’t have any on hand, and I also just don’t love tomatoes in salad. I know. I’m weird.), and added a sprinkle of feta on top. The result? Super refreshing, super easy.
Sweet Summer Corn Salad // serves 4 as a side dish
For the salad:
- 2 large ears fresh sweet corn
- 2 large cucumbers, diced
- ½ cup thinly sliced radishes
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
- ½ cup feta cheese
For the dressing:
- 2 cups fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
For the corn, I actually blanched it briefly in hot water, which makes it just a little softer and easier to carve off the cob. To do this, boil water and place the ear of corn into the water for 3-5 minutes. This will soften it up enough to get it to shave a bit more easily off the cob.
Next, peel and chop the cucumber – I prefer quartering it. Slice the radishes, chop up the red onion and dill, and put everything into a bowl! Add in most of the feta, saving some for garnish at the end. I prefer to layer my salad bowls as I’m building them so you don’t have to actually toss it too much and you get that perfectly mixed mound that looks styled to perfection.
For the dressing, you can either chop the cilantro, and then add all the other ingredients, making sure to mix them well, or stick it all in a blender to get it really mixed. Pro tip: feel free to add a tiny bit of water or extra olive oil if the consistency isn’t quite where you want it to be. For more tang, you can also add lime or white vinegar! Pour lightly over salad, or serve on the side.
Top the salad with a crumble of feta, and a few sprigs of fresh dill! I like to serve the dressing and some extra cheese on the side so people can add as much (or as little!) as they want.
Chef’s Note: you can quickly turn this into more of a Mexican-inspired dish by swapping out a few items! Add avocado, replace the feta with cotija, and try an avocado-cilantro dressing! You could even include whole black beans. The best part about this salad is it’s so easy to play with, depending on what ingredients you have on hand. I added garbanzo beans to my leftovers for a little more protein as lunch the next day!
