Charred corn, tossed with arugula, tomatoes, and a creamy shallot dressing.
When corn is in season, I’m always looking for ways to incorporate it into summer dinners. This salad is a twist on one I’ve been making for years, and has the added creaminess from a dollop of greek yogurt. This gives the salad a hint of the ever popular Elote corn craze, and takes everything up a notch.
The trick to making this salad is charring the corn, but only for about a minute. You want to blister the outsides of the kernels only a tiny bit, This will allow the corn to maintain a bit of a bite. It’s also important to allow the corn to fully cool before tossing with the dressing and arugula. It’s best when just tossed, so if you need to make it ahead, wait to assemble everything later. The dressing can easily be made a day before.
Charred Corn Salad with Creamy Shallot Dressing
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 6 ears fresh corn, husked and kernels removed from cobs
- 1 shallot, sliced thin into rings
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 5 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
- 2 Tbsp whole milk greek yogurt
- 1/2 pint small cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 4 oz baby arugula
- 1/4 cup ground parmesan
Instructions
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan, and add the corn kernels, stirring frequently until slightly blistered and barely softened. You want to maintain a little bite to the corn, so don't fully cook them, one to two minutes total. Remove from the heat and toss with a little salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl for the salad.
- To make the dressing, toss the sliced shallots into a bowl with the lime juice, some salt and pepper. Let this stand for at least 5 minutes, and up to one hour. Add the yogurt and remaining 4 Tbsp olive oil, stirring to combine into a creamy consistency.
- When ready to serve, combine the arugula and tomatoes with the charred (and cooled) corn kernels, and toss with the dressing and grated parmesan cheese. Give a final grind of black pepper, and enjoy!
Notes
