Wednesday, June 17, 2009

What Happens When a Toasty Corn Salad Meets a Creamy Italian Dressing?

Simple deliciousness, that's what. This corn salad recipe is one of my favorite summer side dishes. It's a perfect complement to just about any meat you pull off the grill, and can be dressed in countless ways.

This time, since I had just made and filmed a light, creamy Italian dressing, I decided to try this particular combo, and it was wonderful. The garlicky tang of the mayo-spiked vinaigrette balancing the sweetness of the corn like we all knew it would.

By the way, there is nothing wrong with using frozen (great quality, preferably organic) corn. I love fresh vegetables, and use them 95% of the time, but every good chef h
as a bag of sweet peas, and bag of corn in the freezer.

Of course this salad would be amazing with freshly shaved corn right off the stalk in August, but we don't always have the time or energy, and in that case, this recipe will do just fine.

Special thanks to Michele's friend Robert, who provided the wild boar you see pictured on the finished plate. As luck would have it, we received this much appreciated gift right before the Cochon555 event, so not only did I taste dozens of pork dishes that night, for our lunch before the pig fest we ate… wild pork!

It was awesome! I can't wait until wild pig is regularly available in the meat case at your local markets. The taste of this meat, how pork used to taste (or so I've heard), is so much richer, meatier, and flavorful, there's no comparison. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 lb frozen sweet corn
1 cup diced roasted red peppers
5-6 basil leaves, chiffonade
cayenne, salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

For the dressing:
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 tsp dried Italian herbs
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp water

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Gosh, now I don't know which I'll bring to the Fourth of July potluck? This looks awesome, but so does my previous choice, the Rhubarb Crisp. We've been invited to spend the 4th with dear friends, and to another party with a large group of great neighbors, so, If we can manage to attend each for awhile, I'll make both; salad for the neighborhood, and dessert for the evening with friends. Problem solved!

Chef John said...

they'll both be glad you were invited!

milkshake said...

Chef, its a complement.

To compliment = flatter (when you get free drinks in Vegas they call them complimentary)
To complement = add something else that makes it whole, balance out
with something that fits nicely.

(Sorry for being such a spelling Nazi but its the second time you interchanged these words here so please make sure that it won't happen again)

Anonymous said...

Good lesson milkshake... the misuse of English grammar and language is very often overlooked, sadly because many of the errors are more common to our eye than their correct use. For the most part, overworked, underpaid, with no copy editor or staff to assist, the very skilled and talented Chef John does a great job most of the time describing his thoughts and recipes, and he almost always appreciates our corrections when he messes up.

Chef John said...

No I don't. Just kidding, but can't change tip later

Birder said...

What a great, easy side dish. And super idea to serve it with wild boar!

I can almost make this with what I have in my pantry already. Only thing that's missing is the red wine vinegar. Do you think this would turn well if I used malt vinegar instead?

Thanks, Chef!

Chef John said...

the malt should work fine, or any vinegar really

Anonymous said...

As always, looks great Chef. Thanks for another delicious recipe !

I was just wondring, how long could I keep the dressing the the fridge ?

Anonymous said...

Chef.... okay, it is almost SUMMER, and fresh corn is everywhere now... how COULD YOU use frozen?

I think I will try this by just cutting fresh kernels off the cob (I prefer white) and toasting.

What do you think, maestro? Otherwise, it looks like a wonderful salad. Thanks

Chef John said...

Did you read the post?

Chris K. said...

I made this last night. It was terrific. Thanks Chef!

I can't wait to try it in August, when ruby red sweet corn becomes available...

Cooking With Dia said...

Hi, I liked the video, it is very helpful. Good addition to the food blog. Nice recipe too!

Cook of the Line said...

You missed the garlic in the ingredients list!

Great recipe, tasty AND good looking.

Radian78 said...

Made this last night, it turned out great. We happened to have red peppers in our fridge so I roasted them on our grill. Really a nice combination of flavors.

Anonymous said...

I could have sworn this was the video I watched when I wrote down: Fry corn, bacon bits, onions, spices, and mix with sour cream! Must be my imagination running wild..

Anyway, I just made my idea, mixed with chicken pieces, and it was FANTASTIC!! Had hot chili sauce in the sour cream and wrapped everything in tortillas too..

Or have you, Chef John, made something with bacon and corn as I describe? Was trying to find my inspirations to post them in my blog, but this was the closest I came...

Lilian said...

Hi Chef John, I'm thinking of making this salad recipe sometime soon so if I don't have red wine vinegar can I substitute with white vinegar or apple cider vinegar? Or would it totally destroy the taste? In Sydney they sell the supermarket roasted pepper's which come in red and yellow peppers and you can order them according to weight (grams). They have a touch of olive oil and maybe a bit of vinegar on them. Would those be alright or maybe I should look for canned red peppers instead (if they sell them)?

Chef John said...

any vinegar should be OK

Unknown said...

I made this today, and everyone loved it and kept complimenting me!

I made the dressing using your aioli, and omitted the garlic though. I also made your prosciutto wrapped asparagus, and just some plain ol' bbq chicken breasts. Everyone kept asking if I was a chef (which I'm clearly not), and made sure to give good mention to your site. :)

Thanks so much for rescuing my day on a very last minute lunch for 8 people!

Alina said...

So, with the dressing that I had left after this delicious salad, I made a different salad a few days later: fresh baby spinach, red apple, jicama, bacon bits, and sunflower seeds. With THIS dressing it was just perfect.

thanks, Chef John.

Aaron said...

I love roasted corn, one of my favorite vegetable side dishes. I do something a little different, basically I was roasting a lot of vegetables, so I decided to add corn to my mix and took out some stuff in it's place and ended up with a nice sweet corn salad. I roast thick onion slices with corn kernels and and diced red peppers, and garlic in the oven tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and any herb works really for roasting but specifically oregano for vegetables. Doesn't get any easier than that.

cookinmom said...

I'm sure this would be great with grilled corn on the cob cut off!!?!!?!!

cookinmom said...

Oh my...I grilled the corn and red pepper. Made the dressing and refrigerated for 4 hrs. Put it together and oh, oh, oh. I figured since the grill was on that I would make your asparagus too. The one in foil. All I can say is WOW!!! Thanks!

Marc23 said...

I have made this sauce a couple of times and it really is delicious. How long would it keep in the fridge in a sealed squeezy sauce bottle - 30 days?

cookinmom said...

What else would be good in this besides basil? I have no basil as it's not in season. I have dill, parsley, cilantro, terragon, thyme, sage etc. in my garden right now. Any ideas?

cookinmom said...

Anything else you can use other than basil????