Southwest Corn Salad

As we noted yesterday, Labor Day and the last BBQ’s and family gatherings for summer is only a couple of days away. If you are like most of us, you are thinking about what you might serve at your Labor Day party or what you might take to someone else’s. We have a good suggestion today.

This salad mimics the yummy Mexican corn that is often sold at street markets. Ears of corn are roasted on the grill, salted, then spread with mayonnaise, drizzled with fresh lime juice, sprinkled with chili powder, then rolled in queso fresco or cotija cheese. This salad has all those same delicious tastes and flavors but in salad form. It comes together very quickly, is so easy and so good! It’s perfect on the side with any Labor Day menu, grilled meats, tacos, hotdogs or burgers, or make it a main dish by simply adding grilled shrimp. And it can be made hours in advance and will still be delicious. It holds up beautifully. Give this one a try :-

Southwest Corn Salad
8 ears of corn
1/2-3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon chili powder or Tajin
Salt to taste
1/2 cup cotija cheese or queso fresco, crumbled finely
1 bunch cilantro chopped finely
green onion chopped (optional)

Roast ears of corn on the grill and then cut the kernels from the cob when cool enough to handle. Or alternatively, roast 2 bags of frozen corn on a greased baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and salt the salad to your liking. Cotija cheese is more salty, somewhat like parmesan cheese, so if you are using that you probably will need less salt than if you choose the queso fresco.

If you decide to make this a main dish salad, add grilled shrimp. Or it is also really delicious with crisp crumbled bacon added. If you are using bacon add it just before serving so it doesn’t get soggy. Now gather some friends and family and enjoy this last hoorah of summer 🙂