Lemony Grilled Corn

Posted on by

With summer winding down, this really is a bittersweet time of year. Vacations are over, it is time to head back to work or school and jumpstart the routine. It is also a time when the fresh picked corn stands start sprouting along country roads, and magically appearing in my weekly CSA basket. For the freshest corn, all you need is a pot of boiling water to quickly blanch the corn, some perfectly creamy organic butter and sea salt (fleur de sel for a fun crunch is my favorite).

I still remember spending a weekend at a friend’s farm years ago (I think I was still a teenager then), a bunch of us peeling away the corn husks in the late afternoon sun, feeling a certain crispness developing in the air. Standing around the boiling pot sitting atop the campfire, we were just waiting for the first corn on the cobs to be lathered in butter for us to dig our teeth into the hot sweet kernels, butter running down ours chins. Now that is how you eat your first corn on the cob of the season!

And other times you try different things; that is how I came up with this simple recipe.

Lemony Grilled Corn Salad 

Simple flavours and ingredients can be the best of surprises sometimes. Take fresh sweet corn, fragrant lemon and olive oil, earthy parsley, a touch of salt and pepper – a combination that is not to be missed! 

  • 3 ears of corn
  • ½ cup parsley, chopped
  • 1 lemon
  • 3 tbsp of olive oil (or 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil)
  • Salt and pepper to taste 

Bring up your grill to medium-high and cook the husked ears of corn until you get some colour on all sides, about 15 minutes on the grill. Finely chop your parsley, zest the lemon, and combine in a mixing bowl. 

Once the corn is grilled, coloured and cooked, remove the kernels from the cobs using a sharp knife and cutting along the base of the grains. Mix the kernels with the parsley and lemon zest. Add the juice of half the lemon, the olive oil (and butter is using), a pinch of salt and pepper. Combine well and serve hot, cold or at room temperature.

Makes 4-6 portions, great as a topping for soups, tacos, chilies, curries – such fresh flavours like these can be paired with almost anything.

How do you eat your fresh sweet summer corn?

Leave a comment