Corn and Tomato Salad

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Corn and Tomato Salad uses leftover corn on the cob and grape tomatoes to make a delicious sauteed salad.  It’s sweet, crunchy, and creamy all in one!

 

It’s Farmer’s Market Week! I cannot believe it’s August already, can you? It’s like time has flown after March. Maybe it’s because we’ve all been focused on other things in life right now. Or maybe it’s because I haven’t had to trek into work every day. Who knows?

 

I will confess and say that I haven’t been to my farmer’s market yet this season. We really were going for specific things like the really good frozen fish and some fresh tomatoes and veggies there and there. With all that’s been going on, I’ve been looking for that farmer’s market feel in a subscription box. Because they’re out there!

 

 

I’ve tried a few and will be making some dishes with one of them later this week. So, you’ll have to stay tuned on that. For this one, however, I had local corn from the grocery and some delicious grape tomatoes. And, if you’re like me you always get an extra ear or two of corn to fry up the next day. Because fried corn is the bomb! I’m here to tell you!

 

If you haven’t grilled corn, I highly recommend it.

 

For this recipe, I had 4 leftover ears of grilled corn. It cooks up quick, there’s little to no prep work, and the silks come off super easy! When I grill corn, I chop off the top of the corn to within a half an inch of the cob. Basically, I place my thumb against the edge of the cob and cut off anything beyond the side of my thumb. I do the same with the bottom.

 

 

Then, all I do I remove anything that has been cut loose. No. I don’t open the leaves of the husk and remove anything from the inside. I simply throw those ears on the grill as is. Yes. That’s it. I told you it’s little to no prep work with the ears of corn. The corn teams in the husk as it grills. I put it on for about 10 minutes until that side is nice and charred and then turn it for another 10, then turn again for a final 10. Then I let them sit in their husks as we finish up dinner.

 

So, there I was with this leftover grilled corn that I knew I wanted to fry. The thing is with frying corn cut off the cob is you need butter. And you need a high heat at first to really caramelize those sugars. Then you lower the heat and let the corn chill in the butter.

 

 

But this time, I thought about turning the corn into a really delicious warm salad to have with some pork. At least I think it was pork? I really can’t remember what meat I served up with the salad. Because I was more focused on the salad as the star of the dinner and not the meat.

 

And this corn and tomato salad really is a star of the dinner!

 

There’s the caramelized sweet corn. While those were cooking, I tossed in some pinto beans and some halved grape tomatoes. I wanted the tomatoes to really release their juices and make a nice pseudo dressing for the salad. But that’s not enough to make a killer side dish salad.

 

 

I had to add some queso fresco. Because everything is better with cheese and I had some that was just wasting away in the fridge and needed to be used up. I sliced up some green onions for a delicious bite of fresh green. And finally, there’s the avocado. Because what’s a Tex-Mex style side salad without some avocado?

 

Yes, you sauté the corn, beans, and tomatoes and then let it just sit there until you’re about ready to eat. That’s when you toss in the rest of the ingredients for a bright and delicious side salad.

 

 

The best part is once the corn has a nice caramel color around the edge, you can just let it chill while you prepare the rest of your dinner. You don’t have to baby sit it all that much at all. After you stir in the tomatoes and beans you just sort of let it do it’s thing in the skillet. Don’t you just love super simple recipes like that?

 

Don’t have queso fresco?

 

No worries! You can swap out the cumin and chili powder for some oregano and dill and toss in some Feta. Or swap the dill for some basil and maybe a drizzle of balsamic and toss in some Mozzarella pearls. The basics remain the same, but you can easily change up the spices and cheese to cater to whatever is on the menu for that day.

 

 

No, those really are tomatoes. They’re heirloom grape tomatoes. But yes, you could totally toss in some black olives. That would make this oh so good. Because everything is better with olives. You could toss in kalamata or even some green olives for a kicked-up salad.

 

But olives aren’t that necessary because this corn and tomato salad really does have all the flaves! There’s the sweet corn and tomatoes. Pinto beans bring a heartiness to the salad. The avocado brings the creamy and the green onions the spice. Finally, the queso fresco makes it irresistible.

 

 

We both cleaned our plates for dinner. It’s really funny that I cannot for the life of me remember what else we had for dinner. It just goes to show how delicious this salad really is. It’s all I can remember from the meal. Even the hubs said the salad was super good. And made for delicious leftovers for lunch the next day, too. So, yes it can be good warm and cold. I preferred the warm, though. It really brought out all the flavors in the corn, tomato, and beans.

 

Besides, corn and tomato salad is a great way to use up leftover ears of corn! It’s a win win!

Monday’s Farmers Market Week Recipes

• Air Fryer Kale Chips by Blogghetti
• Brown Butter Peach Scones by The Spiffy Cookie
• Corn and Tomato Salad by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Grilled Double Cherry Naan Bread Dessert by The Freshman Cook
• Grilled Zucchini Pesto Pizza by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Mexican Street Corn Salad by Books n’ Cooks
• Peach and Strawberry Salad by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Peach Upside Down Cake by Red Cottage Chronicles
• Shrimp Salad with Bibb Lettuce, Tomatoes, and Peas by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Skillet Lemon Parmesan Chicken with Zucchini and Squash by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Tart Apple Galette with Cinnamon Crumble by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Zucchini and Tomato Tian by Palatable Pastime