We love sweetcorn, and make a few different versions of corn salad. But this crunchy corn salad is our easiest – and also one of our best.
We often have it just on its own when we’re craving a light, healthy lunch or supper. Or it makes a good side to some ham, roast chicken or salmon. It also adds a welcome pop of freshness to a rich dish. Today we served our corn salad with some lovely cheesy quesadillas (recipe coming soon).
We use fresh corn, cut off the cob, in this salad as it gives extra crunch and sweetness. But you could use tinned or frozen corn instead, for even greater ease. Cucumber adds yet more crunch, and tomatoes & red onion more flavour. We dress the salad with a version of our Classic Vinaigrette, flavoured with a little Italian seasoning. Find out how to make vinaigrette here. But you could use another dried herb instead, like oregano or mixed herbs. We also add a little chopped fresh parsley.
Emily’s always loved corn, and we cook with it a lot. But she didn’t think to make a corn-focused salad until having a particularly delicious one on honeymoon at a vineyard in California. The Californians seem to love corn – there was almost always a corn dish on the menu, and Emily would usually order it. So much so that that leg of the honeymoon was dubbed ‘Emily’s journey into corn’! We still make the original corn salad from that trip, but it’s a little more complex than the one below.
Start the corn salad by removing the corn kernels from the cobs. This is easy to do, but you need a sharp knife, and to take care. For a salad for three to four people, we use two cobs.
Set the cob upright on its widest end, then hold it firmly at the top. Now cut down the cob from the top, as close to the core as possible, to remove the kernels. See the pictures below. Be careful, some cobs can be quite firm, and your knife or the cob can slip. Keep your fingers well clear! Break the kernels up with your fingers so they separate, and place in your serving bowl.
Jake sticks his nose in
Try to get the kernels off cleanly by cutting straight down, close to the tough central core. But it is better to leave a few kernels on, or cut through a few, than to risk cutting yourself. Take care, especially when you are first learning the technique.
Now chop the cucumber. For a two corncob salad we use one small cucumber, or half a large one. We like to dice it fairly small – not quite as small as the corn kernels, but similar. This means slicing the cucumber, then cutting each slice into three in each direction, i.e., into nine small pieces per slice.
Dry the cucumber off with a little kitchen towel before adding to the bowl with the corn.
Jake sticks his nose in
It’s important to have everything in this corn salad as dry as possible to keep it crunchy and stop it from going soggy. If you use fresh sweetcorn, it should be dry enough. But if you use tinned or defrosted frozen corn, make sure you dry this too before adding to the bowl.
We use red onion in this dish as it has a mellower flavour for using raw. But a little still goes a long way. You could use spring onions instead, but we prefer the little bit of bite – and the colour contrast – red onions give. Today we used about half a fairly small onion.
Peel & chop the onion, as finely as you can. See our onion Tip. The finer the better, and you can use as much or as little as you prefer. We judge by eye, and today half the onion looked enough.
Next chop the tomatoes. We used three medium ones. For this particular salad, we don’t bother skinning them or properly de-seeding them. For one thing, this is a Simple Supper. But also we prefer the texture in this dish of skin-on tomatoes. Instead we use the tip we introduced in our Pasta with Lemon & Basil recipe, of removing the seeds when we dry them with kitchen paper. Jump to that tip here.
Slice the tomatoes, then remove any obvious central core or white pith. Then chop them into similar-sized pieces to your cucumber. You can move any obvious pockets of seeds to one side while doing this, and discard.
Now dry the chopped tomatoes really well with some kitchen paper – more of the seeds will naturally stick to the paper while doing this, and you can remove them this way. It’s OK if a few remain. Add to the serving bowl, along which the chopped onion. Stir well to combine.
Your corn salad base is done, and you now just need to prepare the dressing & parsley.
The corn salad base can be stored, covered, in the fridge until you are ready to serve. We like to cover it with some kitchen paper, to keep it dry. Don’t dress it, however, until just before you are ready to serve, and remember to get it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before this so it’s not fridge-cold.
Meanwhile, chop some parsley. See our herb Tip. You don’t need much in this dish; we used about one third of a pack.
You can now make your herb vinaigrette, which can also be done ahead and stored in the fridge if kept separate. We make our basic 1:4 vinegar:olive oil Classic Vinaigrette, but add a little Italian seasoning to the dry ingredients at the start. Find the full method in our Tip.
Jake sticks his nose in
Italian seasoning is a pre-mixed herb blend that you can find quite cheaply in most supermarkets. Mixes vary, but it normally features dried oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary & marjoram. It tends to be quite strong, and very slightly bitter. We like this, but it means you only need a little, especially if using it in a dish that won’t be cooked, as in this corn salad. Or you can mix your own Italian seasoning, or use another herb or mix of your choice.
We like to make vinaigrette in a clean jam jar, as it makes it easier to emulsify. But you can make it in a small bowl or jug with a whisk or fork too. Start by adding the dry ingredients to the jar – we use 1 tsp dried mustard (or you can use jarred mustard); 1/2 tsp caster sugar (or other sugar); and a good seasoning of salt & black pepper. To this we add a little Italian seasoning – about 1/2 tsp. We like the slight bitterness this herb mix lends the corn salad – it nicely counters the sweetness of the corn & tomatoes. But you don’t need much; it can take over, and you want the corn to star. Start with a little, then taste your finished vinaigrette. You can always add more to taste.
Muddle the dry ingredients up a bit with a teaspoon. Then add a tablespoon of red or white wine vinegar, and muddle up again with the spoon, until the salt & sugar dissolve.
Now add 1 tbsp of olive oil (a virgin oil is best here, but any olive oil will do), put the lid on the jar and give it a good shake to emulsify. Then add another 3 tbsps oil, and shake well again. Your herb vinaigrette is done!
Jake sticks his nose in
Our basic Classic Vinaigrette uses a 1:3 vinegar to oil ratio. But for this corn salad we prefer a slightly thicker dressing. So we use the ratio 1:4.
You can store the vinaigrette, in its jar, in the fridge until you are ready to serve. It will also keep for a few more days if you have too much. Remember to give it another good shake before you dress the salad.
About 20 mins before you are ready to serve, get the corn salad base out of the fridge. Give it a stir, then add the chopped parsley and stir again well to combine.
Give the herb vinaigrette a good shake, then pour over the salad – enough to just make it glisten, but not enough to make it wet – then stir well.
Your crunchy corn salad is done!
Enjoy! Today we served our corn salad as a refreshing side for some quesadillas (coming soon) along with our Best Guacamole & some mixed pickled peppers.
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