in my kitchen | roasted corn summer salad

you know why i love summer? because so many of my favorite ingredients are at the peak of ripeness and require little to no cooking to enjoy.

exhibit a: my roasted corn summer salad.

roasted corn summer salad
(serves four)

what:
3 ears of corn
one cup grape tomatoes, halved
half of an english cucumber, diced
one can drained hearts of palm, diced
one cup fresh raw green beans, cut into thirds
two tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
one tbsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves
extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest of one lemon
salt and pepper

(*we had a ton of left-over from lunch so, for dinner, i added thinly shaved raw fennel and baby arugula and it was superb. i served it with crispy chicken milanese. you can also add chick peas to give it a big dose of vegetarian protein.)

how:
in a cast iron skillet, roast the corn (on the cob) until little bits start to char. because the corn is so fresh and ripe, you don't need to cook it to death in order for it to be enjoyable. really, you're just looking for color. remember: color equals flavor. 

let the corn cool so that it can be handled and, then with a sharp knife, shave the kernels off of the cob and place in a bowl. add the assorted chopped and diced veggies and herbs. add olive oil, lemon zest, and juice to your liking. (i don't like a heavily dressed salad so i went light on the oil and lemon juice.) season with salt and pepper to your liking. ps. use good salt. i can't stress the importance of good quality salt enough when you're working with fresh and raw ingredients. maldon sea salt is a kitchen ingredient that i swear by.

what's great about this recipe is that it's best served at room temperature so it'd be a great dish to take to a picnic or afternoon bbq.