Sweet is good, but salty-sweet is better.
I haven’t outright asked her, but I presume that fellow Minnesota Food Blogger Angharad Guy—who writes the lovely blog Eating for England—agrees with me. I don’t think a week goes by without mention of her now-famous salted fudge brownies on Twitter. There is good goodness in a pan of those beauties, without question.
As there is in her simple recipe for grilled corn salsa. This is of course exactly the time to make it, with the bounty of the season, when even sweet corn die-hards are getting their fill of boiled cobs slathered in butter and salt. As Minnesota State Fair goers know, grilling makes corn even cornier, drying the kernels a bit and concentrating their flavor to sweet, chewy heaven. Sliced off the cob, tossed with crunchy onion, fresh cilantro, a squirt of lime—and salt of course!—this salsa is just lovely summer food.
I thought I’d be tempted to add fresh chiles to the mix, but you know what? I think the salsa is better without the heat. The corn is the salty-sweet star here, just the way it should be. The salsa is delicious with tortilla chips (because everything is delicious with tortilla chips), but I plan to be really happy with a pile of it alongside avocado, tomatoes, and perhaps a crumble of bacon for tonight’s dinner.
(Note: I used a sweet onion for the pic, because I forgot to pick up a red onion. Very tasty, another layer of sweet, but not nearly as pretty as red onion. Also, Whole Foods sells freshly fried tortilla chips in their deli that I know are evil-delicious with this salsa because I can’t stop eating them together. Buy with caution…)
Grilled Corn Salsa
Angharad Guy, Eating for England
Serves 4 as an appetizer with tortilla chips
2 ears sweet corn, husked
olive oil
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime, juiced (perhaps more, to taste)
pinch of cumin
salt
tortilla chips
Preheat grill. Lightly coat the corn with olive oil. Grill corn, turning occasionally, until lightly charred on all sides, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, stir together onion and cilantro.
In a small jar, combine lime juice, cumin, salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. Shake and set aside.
Slice cooled corn off the cob and add to the bowl of onion and cilantro, pour in the dressing, and toss. Adjust seasoning by adding a bit more salt and/or another squirt of lime to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.
