Thursday, September 03, 2009

Corny Salad


Some foods are perfectly matched to their seasons. Lamb shanks in the fall, beans and sausage in the winter, pasta with young greens in the spring.

So when I saw this recipe for a corn and tomato salad in Mark Bittman's Minimalist column in a recent New York Times, I knew it was going to appear at dinner soon. Then a friend gave us several ears of her sweet homegrown corn and it was clear the time had come.

Easy, tasty, and totally company dinner-worthy, it's a perfect side dish or, with a loaf of crusty bread, it could be a meal all by itself. You can watch a video of Bitty making it here.

Pan-Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad
From Mark Bittman, the New York Times Minimalist column

1/4 lb. bacon, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
4 to 6 ears corn, stripped of their kernels (2 to 3 cups)
Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
2 c. cored and chopped tomatoes
1 med. ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped
2 fresh small chilies, like Thai, seeded and minced (I used poblano)
Salt and black pepper
1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to render fat; add onion and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes, then add corn. Continue cooking, stirring or shaking pan occasionally, until corn begins to brown a bit, about 5 more minutes; remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Drain fat if you wish.

Put lime juice in a large bowl and add bacon-corn mixture; then toss with remaining ingredients. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve warm or at room temperature.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:26 PM

    You posted that recipe just in time. I've been cutting animal fat out of my diet, and it was hotter than the dickens yesterday so I made a few changes to the recipe. I charred the corn on the bbq and then cut the kernels off the cob and added some fresh Walla Walla chopped sweets to the chopped tomatoes, cilantro, avocado and some nopalitos that I had in the frigerator. Tossed in some local olive oil and lime juice. Put over a bed of salad greens and along with the mushrooms and fish (also cooked on the grill) it was a hit. Leftovers for lunch today ;-)

    -glassylady

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  2. Thanks for the creative inspiration! Love the charring on the grill and combining with greens. And nopalitos? Wow!

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