Now This is a Salad Worth Talking About!
Summer corn, blackberries, lots of scallions, queso fresco, and homemade torn croutons are the basic ingredients in this salad and they’re all delicious in their own right. But when they’re combined and topped with a simple dressing, along with some spices, something almost magical happens.
Of course, this is one of those dishes that will only be as good as the ingredients. If you can get your hands on local fresh corn on the cob, this is the place to use it. If it’s particularly fresh, you don’t even have to blanch it, as I’ve done here. While my corn was locally grown, I still went ahead and blanched it on the cob for 3 minutes. This way, there is no chance of it tasting starchy and that quick plunge in boiling water brightens up the color of the beautiful yellow corn kernels.
I started by making some crisp croutons. I cut off a thick slice from a country style loaf of bread, tore it into small pieces, tossed them in olive oil, salt, and plenty of black pepper. Then I baked them in my counter top oven for about 15 minutes, until they were nicely golden brown.
Then it’s only a matter of cutting the kernels of corn off the cob, adding blackberries, sliced scallions and crumbled queso fresco. The cheese adds a mild salty and milky quality to this salad that is excellent with the sweet corn and berries. After that I made a quick and easy dressing by whisking together calamansi vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, and pepper. While the calamansi vinegar, with its bright citrus flavors, is great here, you can easily substitute white balsamic vinegar and still have a delicious salad.
After I spooned on the dressing, I sprinkled on Morita chipotle chili flakes * and dried Mexican oregano .* Once again, if you don’t have the Mexican oregano ,* you can use regular dried oregano. Same goes for the chili flakes. I particularly love the smokiness of the Morita ,* but any chili flake will work. Then I topped it with the croutons and served the rest of the dressing on the side.
This salad is so much more than its individual parts. It’s one of the best salads I’ve made this summer and I will definitely be making it again while the corn is still so good. I served it with a spatchcocked roasted chicken and I couldn’t ask for a better meal. Seriously, this is my kind of food, folks, and I couldn’t wait to share the recipe with you.
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Spicy Summer Salad of Corn, Blackberries, and Queso Fresco
6
servingsFresh sweet corn, blackberries, scallions, and queso fresco are the basic ingredients in this salad. Add homemade crispy croutons, dressing made with calamansi vinegar, maple syrup, and olive oil, then sprinkle on dried Mexican oregano and chipotle Morita flakes for some spice and heat. Wow! What a perfect salad.
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Ingredients
100 g (3.5 ounces) bread, torn into small (about 3/4 inch) rough pieces
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 ears of corn, shucked
12 ounce carton blackberries, rinsed, drained, and dried
6 scallions, sliced on the diagonal, not too thinly
171 g (6 ounces) queso fresco, crumbled
2 tablespoons calamansi vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Morita chipotle chili flakes * or any other red chili flakes
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400° with a rack in the center. Put the bread on a baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, a large pinch of salt, and plenty of black pepper. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, tossing midway through, until golden and crisp. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the corn and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain, and plunge the corn into a large bowl of ice water. Let chill, remove from the water and pat dry. Cut the corn from the cobs and place on a serving platter. Add the blackberries, scallions, and queso fresco to the corn.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon some of the dressing over the salad, top with the croutons and sprinkle with the chipotle pepper * and dried oregano * to taste. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side and Enjoy!
2 Responses
This was great! Made half the recipe. Two ears of corn in instant pot for 2 minutes, then put in ice cold water to cool. Used white balsamic vinegar and to the dressing, added about 1/4 to 1/2? tsp. ancho chile. Could definitely use blueberries or strawberries as well.
Hi there! It sounds like yours was delicious! And yes, there are endless variations of fruits, cheese, etc. that could be used. So happy you let me know you enjoyed it, Caroline. Thanks!