Mexican Grilled Corn Salad
It’s getting to be the end of summer. Okay, the end of my summer. Here is Florida, I am so happy to see cooler temperatures rolling in. If we rewind a year, I'm in Alaska and praying for the long days of sunlight to continue. And dear God please, just another few weeks where the temperature can at least stay above 50 degrees. So as we wrap up the summer barbeque season, how about an easy, simple and cheap side dish that involves grilling. I cooked this recipe for a work function where we were asked to bring side dishes for a massive amount of cooked brisket and pork butt. So the recipe portions are potluck style in size. If you're capable of basic math, which if you can read this, I'm assuming you are (i.e... you have enough math/reading skills to assume at least a 6th grade education) then you can halve or quarter the recipe. Now that I've potentially put you off, let’s divert your attention (look a squirrel!) by switching to the ingredient list...
Ingredients:
10 Ears of Corn
10.5 oz Package of Grape Tomatoes
1 Head of Cilantro
4 oz Package of Feta (or more if you would like)
3 Limes
1/3 cup Melted Coconut Oil
1 tbsp Granulated Garlic
1 tbs Chipotle Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions:
1. Turn your grill on to a medium/high heat. If it has two tiers, put the corn on the top tier to avoid charring. Cook the corn 15-20 minutes, turning it every 5 or so. I don't dress the corn in butter or olive oil before I grill it. You can if you chose, but I would do it lightly.
2. While the corn is cooking, quarter your grape tomatoes in a large bowl. (One that is large enough to fit all that grilled corn.)
3. Cut up your cilantro, and add it, the salt, pepper, granulated garlic and chipotle powder. Toss them all into the bowl.
4. Remove the corn from the grill when finished. Cut off the kernels and add them to the bowl.
5. Add the melted coconut oil to the bowl. If you're not terribly familiar with coconut oil, it is mostly solid in its room temperature state. And it is definitely solid when refrigerated. So if you're making this ahead of time, do not refrigerate this dish. Your coconut oil will get all clumpy and your dish will taste/look odd. You can always prepare the dish as listed above, store at room temperature, and then add the feta before you plan on serving it. If you would like, you can always use olive oil. But the coconut oil really is a complimentary flavor for this dish.
6. Juice your limes. (The limes should preferably be room temperature. Not only is this good for the coconut oil, but you also get more juice out of them.)
7. Toss the corn together so that all the ingredients are mixed together well.
8. Top with feta and garnish with cilantro leaves.
Enjoy!
*Another great thing about this dish is that the left over corn is a great topper for a salad. Just add lettuce, chicken, avocado or whatever else you want. The flavors are already there in the corn. So a simple and delicious Mexican salad is an easy secondary preparation.
