I'm Making This Easy Corn and Tomato Salad on Repeat

Growing up in Alberta, Canada, we waited 360 days for five days of summer. While that may be an exaggeration, by the time the weather warmed, we were itching to spend every possible minute outside and dreading the day that the leaves would fall and the snow would return.

Peak summer was marked by corn season. And not just any corn, but a local variety called “Taber corn.” It’s an impossibly sweet corn that I still dream of. We’d have butter-basted corn almost every night from late July to early September, adding it to pasta, salads, and even baked goods.

There’s truly no ingredient that better exemplifies the taste of summer, and I’ve found new and fresh ways to enjoy my favorite starchy vegetable, including this perfect summertime salad. All summer long, I’ll be eating my sweet corn raw alongside juicy tomatoes and fresh herbs in this delicious dish that won’t wilt under the mid-August sun.

Tips for Prepping Corn

• Husking corn is simply removing the leaves and “silk” surrounding the kernels. Watch out—it can get messy! I stand over the sink or a garbage bin for this task, pulling down the outer leaves to reveal the kernels and removing any lighter, inner leaves and the corn silk.
• There are plenty of tricks to strip the kernels from an ear of corn, but I do it by placing a small overturned bowl on top on a rimmed baking sheet, placing the cob on the bowl, then running my knife down the ear to slice off the kernels, which are caught in the baking sheet.
• No matter how you slice it, before tossing your cob, be sure to run the back side of your knife down the cob after removing the kernels to release and catch the corn “milk,” which has tons of corn flavor.
• If you’ve never tried raw sweet corn, you’re in for a treat, and I encourage you to try it. But if you prefer, you can also cook the corn first before using it in this salad. Simply shuck it and heat it in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until it turns a deep yellow. Alternatively, pop it in the microwave. 

What Tomatoes To Use

I like to use grape tomatoes in this recipe because they are always ready to serve. If you choose to use larger tomatoes, dice them and salt them, then let them sit for 10 minutes before draining and adding them to the salad. This step ensures that you get maximum flavor without excess liquid that will water down your dressing.

When the season allows, I love using big, juicy heirloom tomatoes in a variety of colors to make this a stunning picnic dish. Use roughly equal parts corn kernels to diced tomatoes.

Make It Your Own

There’s no shortage of ways to make this salad uniquely yours. Here are some of my top suggestions for easy add-ins or swaps:

• Make it spicy with a seeded, chopped jalapeño
• Add 1 cup crumbled feta or mini mozzarella pearls
• Add a diced avocado or a can of chickpeas for a heartier salad
• Toss it over a bed of arugula
• Switch up the herbs with cilantro and mint in place of basil and parsley