Grilled Corn Salad with Feta, Cucumbers, and Red Onion

Welcome to SAVEUR’s weekly column on the way to cook dinner native produce together with our take a look at kitchen supervisor, Fatima Khawaja. That is the place you’ll discover artistic, unfussy meal concepts plus loads of cooking recommendation—like what to do with that bumper crop of zucchini or the way to retailer delicate heirloom tomatoes. Every week, Fatima hits the farmers market and chooses a peak-season ingredient to discover in depth. Observe alongside, and also you’ll learn to flip the season’s bounty into straightforward plant-based meals that’ll be on the desk in underneath an hour.

I can’t cease raving about summer time produce. Each vegetable and fruit on the markets today is at its peak. Juicy tomatoes, ripe stone fruit, and—my favourite for grilling—corn are all right here. Once I see the plump, packed kernels, all tucked away in pale inexperienced and golden husks, I really feel like summer time is lastly in full swing. And corn is often priced so low that you simply’ll wish to purchase a dozen ears earlier than you marvel the way you’ll carry all of them house. 

I grew up consuming candy corn in Pakistan. Roasted over scorching coals, sprinkled with lime and chaat masala, and wrapped in newspaper, it was the proper after-school snack. My mother would purchase it for me for 30 rupees (50 cents on the time) from picket carts parked outdoors the college gates. 

Right here I’ve tried to recreate this meals of my childhood, with the identical puckering acidity and tangy chew. This recipe makes use of charred corn, making a smoky however candy salad you’ll be making again and again till the nice and cozy climate runs out. When you don’t have a grill, you’ll be able to cook dinner the corn in a grill pan (about quarter-hour whole over excessive warmth). The salad has ample sharp onion, salty feta (or queso fresco), and many cilantro and lime, making it the proper companion for grilled seafood and barbecued meats (however simply as satisfying by itself eaten with a spoon).

When searching for corn, search for huge ears and thick husks. You may typically discover a couple of sort, just like the butter and sugar selection, which has yellow and white kernels (a favourite, because it’s a bit of sweeter than all the opposite varieties), or the silver king and silver queen, that are yellower in shade. 

Whichever you purchase, it’ll style nice on this recipe. When buying, take a peek on the kernels by peeling again the husk barely; they need to be agency, and mold- and bug-free. Within the lifeless of winter, when you’ll be able to’t discover contemporary corn, you should utilize frozen kernels—I simply cook dinner them in a skillet on excessive warmth, with a few tablespoons of oil till they darken.
Retailer corn within the fridge with the husks intact to forestall it from drying out. Have a couple of ears left over? You may slice off the kernels and freeze them in a freezer bag. Alternatively, contemplate making Mexican-style street corn, or depart it uncooked and whip up one in all my favourite pakora recipes.