Fire and Ice | Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad

There are few  things that scream "August!" more loudly than corn and tomatoes.  They're ripe and plentiful and at their absolute best at this time of year.  Is there anyone who doesn't love biting into a freshly cooked ear of corn?  (Excluding those wearing braces on their teeth.)

For me, the same goes for tomatoes. While I was picking the first of my new tomatoes in the garden the other day, I really just wanted to bite into one right then and there, no salt required. Always reminds me of the time my younger sister and I  -- at about the ages of  5 and 7 --  snuck off with a peck basket of tomatoes my mother had just bought at a farmer's stand that day and ate nearly half of it ourselves.  We were a bit sick, but my mother was so amazed, she shook her head in awe more than she was angry with us.



Although I can exercise better restraint these days, I still relish the freshness of corn and tomatoes. Only lately have I started to enjoy grilled corn, either on the gas grill or on a gas stove burner flame or from an outdoor campfire. And I'll eat a tomato hot or cold, peeled or seed, or not.  Just love 'em.  Any kind.  Any size. The combination of the roasted corn with tomatoes and cucumbers and jalapeno really needs no more than a drizzle of olive oil and a generous squeeze of lime.  But the addition of smoked paprika adds a nice bit of spice to this super combination.




 I obviously like to combine corn with other veggies (and fruit!) in a salad because I've done it a time or two before.  The corn and blueberry combo above was from a previous post, as was this corn and red pepper salad.  It's the jalapeno, though, that makes all three of these special.  (And the lime juice.  And th cilantro.)



Joy the Baker's salad included bacon and avocado, which I know would be deliciously perfect.  And she made it as filling for a a lettuce wrap.

I have to admit:  I've never been much of a cilantro fan, but I grew some this year and have begun to love it (I also grew jalapeno peppers for the first time this year.)  And I also have to admit it, along with the smoked paprika, the cilantro was the perfect finish to this fire and ice salad. Come to think of it, though, wouldn't cumin be nice?

Roasted Corn & Tomato Salad
makes about 4 cups of salad
adapted from Joy the Baker
3 ears of roasted corn
1 or 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded (for as much heat as you want) and minced
juice of one lime
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
chili powder
smoked paprika
fresh cilantro

Roast the corn your favorite way.  (I used the gas grill, placing ears of corn still in their husks and soaked in water for several hours.)  Let cool before husking and removing the corn from the cob.

Combine the corn with the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and jalapeno in a large bowl.  Sprinkle the juice of a whole lime over all and drizzle with olive oil.  Add chili powder, paprika (or cumin) to taste and toss.  Taste and adjust as you like. Sprinkle chopped fresh cilantro over all and serve.