Vegetarian
20130818-corn-tomato-salad-recipe-2.jpg

Charred Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad with Zucchini and Radishes. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Special equipment: Wok or cast iron skillet

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 medium)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 cups sweet corn kernels (cut from about 4 full ears)
  • 12 small radishes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallion greens and whites (about 4 whole scallions)
  • 1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
  • 1/4 cup Mexican style crema or sour cream
  • 1/2 cup coarsely crumbled or grated cotija cheese, plus more to garnish
  • 3 tablespoons juice from about 3 limes

Procedures

  1. Heat half of oil in a large wok or cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking. Add zucchini in a single layer and cook without moving until well browned on first side, about 1 minute. Toss and continue to cook until browned all over but still firm, about 3 minutes total. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl.

  2. Heat remaining oil in the same pan over high heat until smoking. Add corn and cook without moving until well charred on first side, about 2 minutes. Scrape up charred corn from bottom of pan with a stiff spatula, toss, and char again. Repeat until corn is well charred on multiple surfaces, about 10 minutes total. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add to bowl with zucchini. Toss to combine. Allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

  3. Add radishes, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, serrano, crema, cotija, and lime juice, and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, sprinkled with extra cotija.