Here’s a confession…I may be a little obsessed with grilling vegetables, especially corn. In the last 5 days, I’ve grilled it three times. I think I have a problem. But it is so, so good. Oh, and oops, corn is not a vegetable but a grain. So I guess in order to redeem myself I should tell you I’ve also grilled, three times, a bunch of different peppers in the last five days. Uh oh, they have seeds…does that make them a fruit? Hmmm. Okay. Let’s rephrase this. I have a ‘grilling‘ problem. So much so that I have taken over grilling responsibilities at my house, and at friend’s. On Sunday we went to a lovely bbq for our friends Tim and Sasha. I commandeered the grill. That might have been Mike’s job but I kicked him off. So instead of grilling, he drank most of my Mike’s Hard Margaritas. Worked out okay since I was the driver. In addition to keeping people away from the grill, I brought this salad. If I tell you everyone loved it, I truly mean EVERYONE loved it. The cutest comment was from a man I just met at the party who said, “You had me at jicama.” It was so cute and so funny…so funny I’m laughing now as I type this. In addition to the fact that he loved my salad, he had such an interesting background. I immediately fell in platonic love. I love meeting new people who are smart, funny and wildly interesting. And I love sharing good food with people. So, the moral of this story is that I made a handful of new friends because this salad was the the jumping off point for many interesting conversations. If you have a party coming up or need to bring a dish to a picnic/bbq…bring this. I guarantee instant admiration and new friends.
And to my friends attending Mr. Richter’s 70th birthday party this weekend…you’ve been warned. I’m bringing this salad. And I’m expecting some extra love.
Grilled Corn Salad
serves 12-14 as a side
5 ears of corn, shucked and silks removed
2 tbsp canola oil
2 pints of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
1 medium sweet onion {walla walla or vidala}, diced
1 medium jicama, peeled and diced
2 bunches of radishes, ends removed and thinly sliced {I used white radishes}
1 lb. sugar snap peas, stings removed, sliced thinly vertically
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
juice of 1 lime
1 – 10 oz package of cotija cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp finely granulated sugar
Kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
½ cup basil leaves {I used opal basil}, julienned
Brush corn with oil and grill over medium heat on a grill until all sides have light char marks, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large bowl, add tomatoes, onion, jicama, radishes, snap peas and bell pepper. Using a paring knife, remove corn kernels from cob and add to the bowl. In a small bowl, gently toss avocado with lime juice then add to the corn and vegetable mixture. Add cheese
In a small bowl, add vinegar and slowly drizzle in the olive oil whisking consistently. Add garlic, mustard and sugar; whisk to incorporate. Salt and pepper to taste. Add to salad; toss gently. Top with basil and serve.
While at the market Saturday afternoon they were roasting Hatch peppers on their front patio. They smelled so, so good and even though I’d never had a Hatch pepper, or ever heard of them frankly, I bought two medium heat ones and resigned myself to the fact I’d figure out what to do with then later. I also bought a bunch of corn, a sweet banana pepper and a bunch of veggies for this week’s lunch salads. This morning I saw a post on Eat, Live, Run’s blog for a quick tamale pie and thought it sounded really good. But since I had time, decided to go old school and make the cornmeal base from scratch. Together with the peppers and corn, which I roasted on the grill during a break in today’s rain, and some extra vegetables, it was really good. Next time though I’m buying the hot peppers!
I made this in my oven-proof saute/dutch oven pan but you can use a deep pie plate, or a square/rectangular baking dish. You could even do individual pies by using individual ramekins – just reduce the baking time by 10 minutes and put the ramekins on a baking sheet or on top of foil in case they bubbly over a bit.
Roasted Corn + Pepper Tamale Pie
serves 4, generously
2 tbsp canola oil
2 ears of corn, husks + silks removed
1 large hatch pepper, heat of your choosing {you can substitute any available pepper you’d like}
1 large sweet banana pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, diced – about ½ a small onion
1 cup carrot, diced
½ small green bell pepper, diced
1 – 16 oz can pinto beans, drained
1 – 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal
4 cups water, divided
3 tbsp butter
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 diced avocado, cream cheese, salsa and handful of coarsely chopped cilantro for garnish
In a large saute pan over medium heat, saute onions, carrots and bell pepper in the olive oil until just starting to soften; about 6-8 minutes. Add corn, peppers, pinto beans, tomatoes, cumin and chili pepper. Cook for 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat off and let sit.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk the cornmeal with 1 ½ cups of the water. In a saucepot, bring the remaining 2 ½ cups of water to a bowl. Slowly add the cornmeal mixture. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add butter. Salt and pepper to taste.
Grease the backing vessel. Pour the cornmeal mixture into the vessel, smoothing it out to form a deep crust. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top. Next, add the vegetable, pepper and bean mixture. Using the back of the spoon, smooth the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle the monterey jack cheese over the top and bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving with diced avocado, cream cheese, salsa and cilantro.
veehive 