Corn season is here… and is already almost gone!
I usually eat TONS of corn when it’s in season, but this year has been very different.
I only bought one dozen so far, and might not even buy more.
Why?
Well, first off, corn, even in its fresh form, happens to be a grain! I like to think of it as a vegetable, but it really is a grain… and since I’ve decided to go easy on grains, well, I have to go easy on fresh corn too!
Sad though…
Second, well, when you’re alone, a dozen ears of corn is A LOT to go through! I had to eat corn every day for a week straight.
I might have to buy another dozen though, before season is really over. I mean, I DO have a sweet spot for corn, and I ESPECIALLY like that Quick Raw Corn Chowder. I want to enjoy it one more time while I still can.
Speaking of sweet, I am now 2 weeks into my Sugar Free Challenge and still going super strong. I haven’t had one gram of sugar, not even “indirect” sugar, such as that which would be present in bread or any other prepared food. Even eating out, I’ve been super careful and made choices which I could be absolutely certain contained no sugar at all.
Frankly, I feel fantastic and I’m thinking of stretching it one extra week and make it last the entire month of August. For some reason, to me, a challenge should last at least 30 days, else it’s just too easy! 
But anyway, back to corn… I had never realized that there were so many calories in an ear of corn! I always thought that there would be bah… about 35, 4o maybe?
No way, not even close!
A large ear of corn, which is pretty much the standard size here in Quebec, has about 120 calories! That’s insane! To think that I used to eat 12 of them EASY when I was younger, WITH butter and salt on top of it. YIKES!!! Thank goodness, I now I enjoy my corn SANS butter, thank you very much. I find it tastes better that way, and is A LOT less messy…
I also happen to like my corn… care to guess? GRILLED, of course!
Last year, I discovered just how easy it was to roast corn in the oven, by simply shoving it in there, husks and all, for about 40 minutes.
I figured the same result had to be achievable by throwing said corn on the grill instead.
And indeed, it works BRILLIANTLY! – In less than half the time, too!
So I created another Roasted Corn Salad, using “grill roasted” corn, this time. It was just sublime! So sweet and fresh and intensely crunchy, with just a hint of hot and tangy, it just SCREAMED of a beautiful summer day. It immediately transported me to some magical place where I was having a picnic, sitting on a large tablecloth in the middle of a green prairie, surrounded with grass, butterflies and daisies and trees and beautiful birds…
Hey, why not take it to an actual picnic? It would be just PERFECT for that…
Of course, you don’t HAVE to use “grill roasted” corn to make this salad, nor do you have to cook corn ESPECIALLY to make it.
It would be the perfect opportunity for you to use up that leftover corn from the corn party you held yesterday or the day before…You know, the one you never quite know what to do with, save for making Shepherd’s pie…
BUT, know this: the grill roasted corn does add a lot of depth to the overall flavor of the salad. Roasting the corn makes it that much sweeter and gives it a bit of a caramelized taste that I totally dig!
I think this is now my ultimate way of cooking corn.
Of course… it’s GRILLED! How could I not just adore it!
Oh yeah… I will definitely have to get me another dozen of those babies before they are gone for good.
Can’t wait another year to indulge again…
Besides, it’s almost a vegetable, isn’t it?
INGREDIENTS
- 8 ears of fresh corn on the cob, silk removed
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup grape tomatoes
- 2 cups haricots verts, ends removed and cut into 1" pieces
- 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and very finely chopped
- the juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 75g unripened goat cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your outdoor grill to high heat (around 400-450)
- Place your ears of corn directly on the grill without removing the husks (remove the silk to avoid burning)
- Close the lid and cook the corn for about 20 minutes, rotating the ears every 3-5 minutes, to insure even cooking on all sides.
- Remove corn from the grill and allow to cool for about 10 minutes then remove the husks.
- Remove kernels from the cobs and place in the fridge to cool completely, preferably overnight.
- Of course, you can also use leftover corn or even frozen corn.
- When corn is good and cold, add it to a mixing bowl along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend to combine.
- Serve immediately or leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow for flavors to combine.
A wonderfully photographed colourful salad – NOW just teach me to love corn!!
One of the very few food items to which I am not allergic, which I do not overtly dislike, which I DO try to include in my menus – and simply rarely do! Promise to keep staring at your pics until brain decides to click gears!
You don’t like corn, Eha? Oh my… you have to try it again! Look at the pictures! Keep looking…
Hey, I’m having herring tonight, Eha, because you inspired me to try ‘em again. I can’t stand the darn things. But I’m going to eat them thinking that I love them and that they are good for me, and I will make them pretty and all so that I can take pictures and fool my brain into believing that he likes them. And I will think YUM the whole time.
I hope I actually think YUM when I sink my teeth into them!
Got to this late on a very busy day:
* Herring dishes come in many shapes and sizes
! I remember standing at the Royal Opera House, Stockholm, lunchtime buffet with 26 different types staring at me [no, I did not do the counting, but had to go back twice to try 'em all, and then i had no 'room' for most of the other goodies]. So it depends, and I hope you liked!
* Corn – methinks it is simply that this is not such a favoured vegetable in Oz – sure we have it in the bins at the supermarket, and people buy it frozen for soups etc, but I have hardly heard anyone talk about it compared to the attention it receives in the US. Horses for courses?
Well, my first acquaintance with herring didn’t go too well I’m afraid. I was supposed to go for the canned stuff, but while at the store yesterday, I stumbled upon some lovely salted smoked fillet and decided to give those a try. OMG! That’s like way too salty for me. Even worse than anchovies. I figure one has to do something to remove some of that salt before consuming the fillets? Or maybe chop them up into little pieces and use them as part of a dish, like you would anchovies? Please enlighten me, because I now have lovely smoked herring fillets in the fridge that I have no idea what to do with…
Next in line… the canned stuff. Hopefully this experience will go better than the first!
I’m not a huge corn fan myself, but I do love it grilled like this! Beautiful photographs, and I love the fresh, summery flavors in this salad.
Thanks Elana!
You can never go wrong with grilled now, can you? 
i love corn too! cannot wait to try this recipe! congrats on the sugar free challenge, i wish i could do something like that…..but i have such a sweet tooth, its near impossible!
check out http://www.amazine.com for my food inspirations!
ali
Oh, but I have an incredible sweet tooth, Ali. Sugar woud be my strongest addiction to this day! I work very hard at controlling it and hope to eventually get rid of it once and for all. It’s not always easy, let me tell you. But I do see real benefits… much like quitting smoking, or drinking. Sugar is just as powerful a drug as these two, you know. But if I was able to quit drinking AND smoking, surely I can overcome that one too, eventually!
I dream of the day when I can look at a piece of cake and think meh…
One day at a time… One challenge at a time!
yeah that is true!! Maybe i should give this challenge a go…..but in 3 weeks, as i am currently interning in Berlin and there are far too many fabulous Kaffee & Kuchen shops!
thanks for your sweet reply! I look forward to your next post 
Love this simple recipe! Gorgeous pictures – will definitely check out your blog more often!
http://www.dreamerly.blogspot.com
This is a gorgeous salad! We love sweet corn but haven’t been able to enjoy much of it because of the drought in this area!
Beautiful dish! I’ve got all the ingredients as well (well, aside from the cheese and walnuts, but I’d leave those out anyway) including those fancy haricot verts! I actually had to google that, haha, but I was like, oh they’re green beans. This one will be a keeper, I’m sure.
And I love corn on the cob. That’s one of the things that I miss- actually eating it off the cob, these darn braces (I’m a teenage, heh)! I don’t want to directly bite down on anything that might bend the wires or whatnot. But I still love to slice it off the cob and see how neat it looks still in little blocks. Even if it is a grain, it sounds like you enjoy corn as well.. So you shouldn’t worry about not having it a lot. If you like it, you should have it. ^^
Can’t wait to try the recipe, have a nice day!
LOL! I hadn’t even realized that I’d called them haricots verts! Sounds poetic, doesn’t it?
Thank you so much for your kind intervention! I would’ve never guessed that you were a teenager… You sure sound like you have a passion for food. I love that! I totally agree with you on the corn looking super neat in little blocks. I think, now that I am older, that I prefer eating it like this. At least, I don’t have to floss half a dozen times after I’m done eating!
I hope you do try this recipe, and please, let me know how you liked it if you do!
You have yourself a tremendous day also!
I love the send of this recipe (of course most recipes can’t go wrong if they include grilled corn).
Most? Most? Are you speaking out of personal experience here? I want details…