If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ve seen a glimpse of my adventures over the past few weeks. I spent some time in Europe, enjoying not only the sights and scenery, but the food as well, which included a diet of carbs and pastries, followed by gelato and chocolate, for pretty much every meal. While I fully support vacation diets involving pastries and chocolate, I felt like I literally rolled off the plane home after stuffing my face for so long. I wanted nothing more than a giant plate of something fresh, light, and cold. I came home to a fridge stocked with some fresh veggies (good job, hubby) and threw together this salad which turned out SO good. It’s amazing how little you need to enhance the flavors of food fresh and in season, like sweet corn and tiny tomatoes. This salad is awesome for potlucks because it’s different, and it makes the perfect summer dinner when paired with grilled chicken, fish, or steak. This recipe seems so simple, but I honestly hope you all try it because it’s so, so flavorful and delicious.
You’ll need 4 ears of fresh sweet corn.
And a few other things you might have growing in your backyard garden before too long.
You need to start out with cooked corn for this salad. I’ve found that my Thermador Steam Oven cooks corn perrrrfectly so that’s the only way I do it these days. You can just as easily boil your corn cobs in water for a few minutes.
When the corn is finished cooking, immediately plunge it in ice water to stop the cooking and cool it down.
Once it’s chilled, cut it off the cob and place in a bowl.
To that you’ll add some sweet grape tomatoes and sliced green onions.
And a big handful of fresh basil.
When you have such amazing, natural flavors like this, you need very little to dress it up. A simple drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, preferably our Garlic Oil,
and drizzle it right over the top.
And also some red wine vinegar and some salt and pepper.
Toss that all together so everything is coated, and last of all, toss in some feta cheese. Toss the salad gently after the feta is added so it doesn’t completely fall apart.
You can serve this relatively quickly after making it, but it is so much better after it’s had time to really chill. I recommend at least a couple of hours, but if you have time to chill it more like 4-6, or even overnight, it’s even better. Everything sort of marinates together and the flavors are so, so yummy.
No joke, I ate the leftovers from this batch for breakfast.
Fresh Sweet Corn Salad
Recipe by Our Best Bites
Ingredients
4 ears fresh corn, husks and silk removed
1 10oz clamshell grape tomatoes (about 2 cups)
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tablespoons Garlic Olive Oil (regular is fine if you don’t have garlic)
2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (reduced fat is fine)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add corn and return to a boil, cooking for about 5 minutes. Note that very fresh corn will cook quickly (5 minutes or less) and corn that is a few days old will take a little longer (6-8 minutes). To avoid tough corn, never exceed 8 minutes. When corn is done boiling, immediately plunge in a bowl of ice water for a few minutes to stop cooking.
Use a sharp knife to remove corn kernels from cobs and place corn in a mixing bowl. Cut tomatoes in half and add them to the bowl along with the green onions and basil. Add olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and toss to coat. Add feta and very gently toss salad to distribute cheese. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour or two, but for best results, 4-6 hours or overnight.
Yields about 5 cups salad, which is about 6-7 servings that are about 3/4 cup.
Questions & Reviews
Many thanks for sharing this!
I made this tonight. It is really, really good. My husband said, “That’s a really good corn concoction.” I can tell I’ll be craving this salad and will make it many times in the future. Delicious!
Hey Sara, have you tried grilling the corn and then using it for the salad? I think that would add a yummy flavor to the salad!
Love this recipe! I’m sharing your link in my CSA newsletter this week! Yummy!
I knew I would like this when I saw all my favorite ingredients, corn, basil, tomatoes, feta! But I was wrong, I didn’t like it, I LOVED it!! I made it for a July 4th bar-b-que and everyone loved it. I’ve already had 2 people ask for the recipe. I’ll be making this a lot this summer!
I made this for our neighbor’s July 4th potluck, and it got rave reviews! Thank you so much for the inspiration. It was so good, and so different! Plus, it really is very quick and easy to make. Perfect!
This salad is AMAZING! I’ve made it twice this week. I just have one question though. My basil turns dark after the salad has set for a while. Is this normal? Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
This is going to be the perfect side to have with our 4th of July picnic.. A nice balance to the heavy BBQ 🙂
Love this salad! It’s a new fav side going into the rotation! Thank you!
I made this salad over the weekend & it was AMAZING!
It is nice to have a different salad recipe to make to take places that isn’t the same old salad that everyone has had a ZILLION times! I’m going to make it again later this week.
So glad you loved it Jamee!
Made this tonight w/ Honey Balsamic Chicken Skewers. Both were delicious!!!
Amazing salad with pretty less ingredients. I’d love to make this delicious salad as the making instructions are so simple and easy. I just want to make salad which is possible in a few minutes. Thanks.
I love salads like this! Made this today and it was delish!
I made this yesterday and it is delicious!! As I scrolled down to comment I realize I forgot to add the feta and it was still scrumptious. 🙂 I’ll have to make it again soon!
I made this today, and it’s fantastic! Thanks!
Yum! I can’t wait to try! And that youtube video floating around facebook with that guy who cuts a bunch of grapes in half at once – I can’t wait to try that trick on these tomatoes! It works for the grapes!
That looks amazing! The hubby and I set a goal this summer to eat as much fresh produce as possible…fewer carbs, frozen dinners, pizza/fast food nights, etc. We have been eating tons of your different salads and loving it – this will be a great one to add into the rotation!
Sounds delicious; another great idea for all the corn we’re about to have here in Iowa.
oh how I just love corn! And salads…. This sounds perfect for a great lunch. I will just add maybe some chicken to it. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds so delicious! I have basil growing on my deck and I don’t totally know what to do with it because I’m not a pesto lover, but this will be perfect for it.
Looks so good! And can we talk about how jealous I am of the pellet ice your corn is swimming in? I need an ice maker like you have when I finally have my own house.
So glad I wasn’t the only one feeling the SAME WAY!!!!