Day two of our celebration of National Farmers Market Week continues with one of my favorite summertime salads. Growing up, my favorite way to eat corn was on the grill or steamed; I had never dreamed of eating corn raw until I saw this recipe I’ve adapted from Food & Wine. I was skeptical, but I went for it and it turns out to be a great accompaniment to a Mexican meal (or any other kind of meal, to be honest). Since you’re really tasting the corn here, the fresher corn from farmers markets and farm stands works best (here’s a page with some tips to help you find the tastiest corn).
One thing I like best about a recipe like this is that I can get almost every single ingredient at local farmers markets (except limes; Boston isn’t exactly known for its awesome citrus crop).
Raw Corn & Radish Salad with a Spicy Lime Dressing
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 small jalapeño or other hot pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped (don’t seed if you like things on the spicy side)
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 4 ears)
6 medium radishes, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
3/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 or 2 small to medium shallots, minced (or 1/4 of a small onion)
Directions
1. In a small food processor or blender, purée the lime juice, jalapeño, honey and cumin. With the machine on, add the oil. Season with salt and pepper. (If you are concerned about raw shallot/onion flavor, purée them here – the lime juice will help mellow the flavor.)
2. In a large bowl, toss the corn with the radishes, cilantro, shallot and dressing. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve.
3. You can make this ahead a few hours and put in the refrigerator and let the flavors combine if you’d like.
“corn on the cob” photo courtesy of flickr user Akash Kataruka through use of Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic license.
