A few weeks ago, I made Alison’s other grilled corn salad, Charred Corn and Scallions with Tomatillos. I have a preference between the two. Keep reading to find out! (Oh, the suspense!)
This Grilled Corn Salad is essentially the same as the Charred Corn, but instead of scallions, there are red onions marinated in lime juice, and instead of sliced tomatillos, a half cup of corn nuts. Both salads use plenty of cilantro and cotija. And both benefit from lots of salt and black pepper.
The corn nuts are super fun in the Grilled Corn Salad. They blend in really well with the corn kernels, so you don’t know when you’ve got one on your fork. This makes their crunch a total surprise. You never know when you’ll chomp down on one of those toasty, salty buds. Corn nuts remind me of my childhood. My mom never bought them for us, but I would trade away anything in my brown paper sack for a bag of corn nuts at the lunch tables.
I’m curious about Alison’s choice to have us grill the corn with husks on, rather than directly over the flames. With the husks on, the corn didn’t get any char and it took a whole half hour to cook. The other salad had the kernels char directly over the grate and it only took 10 minutes. Quicker, tasiter, and reason #1 why I prefer the Charred Corn over the Grilled Corn.
Reason #2 is the lack of strong acidic contrast in the Grilled Corn Salad. While the recipe calls for lime juice, it’s a primarily salt-forward dish. I know I could just add more lime, but I appreciate how the Charred Corn incorporated the juicy, tangy elements of tomatillos right out of the gate. I think this classifies as truly a personal preference, but I’ll vote anything with tomatillos over dishes without. The presence of tomatillos cinched the deal for me. At the end of the day, it’s the Charred Corn that I crave, both for the time it takes to make and its flavor profile.
118 recipes cooked, 107 to go.
