CHARRED CORN SALAD WITH FETA, MINT AND QUINOA

A fresh, summery salad packed with healthy corn, quinoa, herbs, avocado and feta cheese and tossed in a light white-wine vinegar & lime juice vinaigrette. Perfect for a barbecue side dish!

Corn on the cob. To me, it is summer.

For some reason, corn on the cob makes me nostalgic for those hot summery days when I was growing up. We would play outside for hours, playing basketball, skipping rope, drawing with sidewalk chalk and making hopscotches. Then, we would drag ourselves in, happily tired, and were served up something delicious from the barbecue, a fresh salad, and corn on the cob.

We would slather it in butter. Stick it with those little prongs to keep our kid hands from burning. And go nuts.

You were guaranteed that someone was going to pretend to be a typewriter. Chomp-chomp-chomp-chomp-DING! Start over. That’s just how things worked.

This week, I was super excited to see that they had fresh corn on the cob at the grocery store. I fought my way through a rabid mob of people, and came away victorious, with an armload of corn!

I guess we’re a bit boring when it comes to corn here, though. Normally we just eat the corn on the cob, and that’s that. Although, Ben often cuts the kernels off and eats it with a fork…what a snob! He says the kernels get stuck in his teeth when he eats it right off the cob.

I came across this salad on the Food & Wine website, I thought it sounded like a pretty delicious alternative! But I wanted to put my own spin on it, so I threw in some quinoa, feta cheese, and {duh!} avocado.

If there is one word to describe this salad it is this: fresh. Fresh parsley, cilantro and mint. Fresh corn. Salty feta. Fluffy quinoa. Tossed in a white-wine vinegar/lime juice/honey vinaigrette that brings even more freshness to the party.

I really try to make sure all of my recipes are super fast and simple. This recipe will take a tiny bit of extra planning, since you need to cook the quinoa and the corn ahead of time and allow them to cool.

I actually grilled the corn and cooked the quinoa the night before shooting these pictures, which made throwing the salad together a task that took probably less than 15 minutes.

This salad would be perfect for a barbecue! We enjoyed ours with Ben’s famous BBQ ribs. It was the perfect, refreshing side to enjoy with the greasy, messy ribs. And being packed with quinoa and corn, this means you can feel a little less guilt about reaching for just one more rib

Print Charred Corn Salad with Feta, Mint and Quinoa
Author: Denise
Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Serves: 4
A fresh, summery salad made with simple, refreshing ingredients.
Ingredients Salad

½ cup uncooked quinoa
3 ears of corn
oil
⅓ cup feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
¼ of a purple onion, in slivers
1 avocado, cubed

Dressing

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions Salad

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Set aside to cool.
Brush corn with oil. Grill over medium heat, for 20 minutes {or until corn is cooked to your liking}, turning every 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cooled, cut corn kernels off.
Assemble quinoa, corn and remaining salad ingredients in a medium bowl.
Shake together dressing ingredients and toss with salad.

Notes This salad keeps well, however the mint & avocado may discolor. If you will be serving at a later time, leave them out until just before serving.
3.2.2708

Inspired by this Food & Wine recipe