The Pleasures of Summer: Grilled Corn Salad

Everyone who knows me knows that I love my freezer. Small but mighty, our little upright can hold the butchered meat from a half pig and a whole lamb, a five-gallon bucket of blackberries, a dozen jars of freezer jam and the zip-locked bags (and bags and bags…) of roasted tomatoes that will see us through the winter.

The tomatoes that I thaw for sauces and braising this winter will conjure memories of the heat of summer, when I stood in the kitchen, knife in hand, chopping the big, heart-shaped astiana tomatoes into chunks to roast over a smoky fire. The berries, baked into cobblers and crisps on cold, rainy nights, will remind me of the taste of those same berries, popped fresh from the canes into my mouth, bursting with warm juice.

But, delicious as they are, they're still just stand-ins for the genuine articles that are flooding into local farmers' markets even as you read this. (Seriously, there are 60 farmers' markets in the metro area going on seven days a week during harvest season!) So I can only encourage you to go out and stuff yourself with tomatoes, corn, tomatillos, berries and melons to cement their height-of-the-season flavor in your mind, the better to reminisce over their flavors this winter, and look forward to their coming again next summer.

Grilled Corn Salad

6 ears of corn
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
2 dozen or so cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 c. olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press (1-2 tsp.)
1/2 c. finely chopped cilantro
Salt to taste

Optional add-ins:
Cooked, crumbled bacon
One cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1/4" cubes
One red bell pepper, chopped fine
Red pepper flakes

Build a fire in your grill. Shuck the corn, remove silks and break off end stalks. Place corn over a hot bed of coals, turning when the side facing the coals turns dark brown. (You can also boil the corn if you want.) When corn is done, cool slightly and stand ear upright, thick end down, on cutting board. Run sharp knife from the top to the bottom of the ear, cutting off the kernels. (Save the shaved cobs for making stock.)

In large salad bowl, combine all salad ingredients and toss. The salad will be better if allowed to stand at room temperature for an hour or so to allow the flavors to combine, so it's great to make ahead if you're grilling steaks or meats…just grill the corn first and make the salad.

Find more corn and tomato salad recipes, one from Jim Dixon and one from Mark Bittman.

In Season NW: Summer Means Corn

Contributor Jim Dixon of RealGoodFood is a griller extraordinaire, and cooks on little else other than his Weber during the summer. I can tell already that this version of grilled corn is going to be appearing regularly on our summer table.

The summer’s heat means fresh corn, and it is a beautiful thing. Most of the corn grown for eating (as opposed to processing) is super sweet, not just a superlative description but a class of cultivars that have a lot more sugar than the older, plain old sweet varieties. It might not taste as “corny” as the sweet, but it doesn’t become starchy so quickly, a tradeoff I can live with since it’s no longer necessary to get the corn cooked immediately after picking.

I like fresh corn almost any way, but of course these days I’m cooking it over fire. I shuck the ears and put them right over the coals so those sugars can caramelize. I’ll even admit that most of the time I eat it with butter (sometimes olive oil, but corn on the cob seems made for butter), but I like to mix it up, too, by adding this very simple spice rub.

Grilled Corn with Za’atar & Aleppo Pepper

If you don’t have any za’atar in the cupboard, make a batch by toasting some sesame seeds, then mixing with ground sumac, dried thyme and Pantellerian oregano (I mix roughly equal parts, but some folks like more herbs than sesame and sumac). You may also need to drive to Barbur World Foods for a jar of the mildly spicy Aleppo pepper*, or substitute a mild chile powder (not as good, but okay).

Mix a couple of big spoonfuls of za’atar with half as much Aleppo pepper, add a little good salt (the Sicilian fine sea salt I have is perfect) and stir in enough extra virgin olive oil to make a thin paste.

Grill some corn, slather with the za’atar mix and eat.

* Aleppo pepper is also available at Penzey's and other stores that carry a wide range of specialty spices.

In Season: Corn!

Is there anything better than fresh, local corn? Well, anything better at this time of year, anyway?

I mean, Hood strawberries are amazing. But they're around forever compared to the Northwest corn season. A couple of weeks and it's over. I crave corn's crunch, the milky sweet juice that explodes out of the kernels when they pop in my mouth, the satisfying pick-it-up messiness of buttered corn on the cob. Man, that's eating!

As for grilling, we've done it in the husk, with the husks turned down (what a mess!) and then last night we just husked them and threw them on the grill with a brushing of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Simple and easily the best. A little char on the outside, slathered with butter (or, in Dave's case, margarine) and gnaw away.

Now I just need to go buy a bunch, cut the kernels off and pack them in the freezer to pull out for corn chowder, cornbread and corn salsa this winter.

Easy Cornbread
Adapted from The New York Times Magazine

1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
2/3 c. sour cream*
2/3 c. milk*
2 Tbsp. butter, melted*
1 egg
1/3 c. green onions, chopped
1/3 c. corn kernels, fresh or canned
1 3/4 c. cheddar cheese, grated*

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking power, salt and cumin and blend well. In a separate bowl, add sour cream and milk and blend well. Beat in melted butter and egg. Add liquid ingredients to cornmeal mixture and blend well. Add corn, green onions and cheese. Blend thoroughly. Grease and flour baking pan (I use a Pyrex pie plate) or muffin tin. Pour mixture into pan or tin and place in oven. Bake 25 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Options: Red pepper flakes and chopped jalapeno peppers can be added for a little heat and makes this fantastic with chili.

* For the lactose intolerant, substitute Lactaid milk, Tofutti tofu sour cream, margarine and whatever cheese your milk-averse person can tolerate. Dave does fine with extra sharp cheddar.