Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Fresh sweet corn salad



I've had corn coming out my ears this week. Okay that's a little corny... (Sorry I couldn't help myself!) We have had a lot of corn around here. The first of the sweet corn in our area is ripe for the picking. Over the week-end I got 3 cases of really nice sweet corn. My mom and I decided to put up some corn this year. This is something she always did when I was growing up. It was a family event, all the kids helped out. I always dreaded corn freezing day. It meant spending all day husking corn, outside, hot, with sticky hands. She'd get several hundred ears of corn and we'd all spend a whole day working to get it put in the freezer. As a child I never thought I'd actually want to freeze corn.
Now that I'm an adult I find myself looking forward to getting that wonderful sweet corn and preserving it for later. So mom and I put up 33 quarts of corn on Saturday. Now Dad does all the husking. Yeah! That's the part I still don't like to do.
We didn't freeze all the corn however. I kept out several ears to eat fresh. We had some plain old corn on the cob. One of my favorite things but I wanted to do something a little more creative with some of the corn. I decided on making a corn salad. Really fresh seasonal ingredients are the key to this salad. I made it to accompany grilled chicken and we loved it so much I made it again to go with our burgers the next night.

Fresh Sweet Corn Salad
(Print Recipe)

Ingredients

5 ears of corn, husked
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
1/2 cup of chopped tomato (one medium tomato)
1/2 cup feta cheese, diced or crumbled
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Large handful of fresh basil leaves, julienned


Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, tomato, feta, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.


I used an heirloom tomato from my parents farm but any really ripe fresh tomato will be fine.

For step-bystep instructions on how to freeze corn, visit our Waterberry Farm blog

16 comments:

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I'm jalous of your early corn season. I love corn but never freeze it. I should start doing it. It's so good.

Sara said...

My stores all have fresh corn too, I am excited about it! This looks like a great salad.

apparentlyjessy said...

Yum, I love corn, this salad looks nice and fresh...perfect for summer. Can you believe my boyfriend doesn't like corn...strangest vegetable not to like I reckon!

Kelly said...

First, I love the pictures! They make your corn salad look delish! My husband and mom ADORE corn and I have been looking for some summery corn options. This looks like one I should try!

grace said...

like helene, i'm so jealous! i've been craving fresh sweet corn for a couple of weeks now, and who knows when it'll actually show up around here. this is great salad for me to dream about. :)

Eliana said...

I absolutely love corn. I feel like I can never have enough. And fresh is the best wayt ot go.

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Props to the "corny" jokes! :D

Anonymous said...

Oh, fresh corn sounds wonderful! I love the addition of feta in this salad!

Karly said...

Mm, that looks delicious!

♥Rosie♥ said...

Fresh corn how lucky! Your salad looks so good and so very colourful.

Rosie x

J.L. Danger said...

this sounds great! I ONLY like fresh corn, from the cob. No canned, no creamed, no frozen, nothing. Only fresh cobbed corn.

Yum!

Elyse said...

Sorry that I've been an absent commenter; I just finished up my law school exams and am finally getting around to my google reader. This treat looks fabulous! I'm a big corn fan. (And I'd totally do the husking for you, if it meant I got my hands on some of this yummy corn treat.)

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Mmm.... I was hoping that was feta cheese in the pic, and it was. Mmmmmm....

Unknown said...

I love this recipe! Thanks for sharing. I am so making this today! If you don't mind, I'd love to direct Foodista readers to your blog. Just add your choice of widget to this post and you're all set!

Anonymous said...

This is my first year growing corn, and I'm starting to look for recipes since it's almost ready. Your corn salad looks delicious! I'm bookmarking for later. And those are gorgeous pictures of France in your recent posts!

tara said...

I am so glad to hear that I'm not the only one that doesn't like husking corn! I do like, well love, corn and tomatoes though, and this looks delicious.