Grilled Corn Salad w/ Honey Lime Dressing

For me, corn on the cob is the epitome of summer.  I could eat my weight in it.  And it's always that way.  There are photos of me in our old family albums with golden sun-kissed skin and sun bleached hair, going full-out typewriter on some corn.  It's like a rite of passage.  Summer is not truly summer until there are sweet corn stands and signs on every other block.

I have some awesome neighbors who love food almost as much as we do in our house.  I'm often handed buckets full of maitake mushrooms that they've spent the day foraging for in the woods.  Sometimes it's an armload of ginormous cucumbers, or a grocery bag with tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, habañeros, and zucchini all tumbled in and vying for their spot.

A few weeks ago, I came home to find a couple dozen ears of sweet corn stacked on the table next to my side door.  And a week or so later, they brought over another bag full of the slender green-husked, plump-kerneled corn.

For the most part, we've been sliding them into the fire pit or lining them up on the grill.  Enjoying them as nature intended.  But since we were gifted with such delicious abundance, I've been using the cobs in other ways, as well.

This is the perfect side dish to make during your Labor Day cookout.  If you're firing up the grill anyway, throw some ears of corn onto the fire.  If you have everything else chopped up and whisked together, all you have to do is slice the warm corn from the grilled cobs and toss everything together.

Grilled Corn Salad w/ Honey Lime Dressing

This colorful corn and veggie salad makes the perfect summer grilling side dish!

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: grill salad side vegetarian dairy-free nut-free soy-free corn onions mint cucumber July 4th Labor Day American summer

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 5 ears fresh corn, in the husk
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon smoked sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 of a small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 small cucumber, seeded & finely chopped
• 1/2 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Instructions

Grill your corn on a hot grill (when the coals have just turned gray or medium-high on a gas grill), in the husks, until husks are charred all over, ~15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel back the husks, taking the silk with them. Stand the corn cobs upright on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut straight down, slicing the kernels from the cob. Set aside.

Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until fully combined. Add the corn, onion, cucumber, bell pepper, and mint; toss gently until everything is coated.

Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

     -slightly adapted from The Tailgaters Cookbook by David Joachim.