Roasted Radish and Sweet Corn Salad
Inspired by classic Mexican esquites (corn salad), this radish and corn salad utilizes fresh AND raw versions of corn, radishes, and scallions, resulting in a salad that is minimalist and easy, yet deeply flavorful all the way through.Â
- Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- Kernels from 4 ears of fresh corn
- 16-ounce bag of fresh radishes or 3 bunches, washed and trimmed
- Olive oil, for cooking
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 scallions or green onions
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
- Handful of freshly chopped cilantro (see note for substitutions)
- 1 garlic clove, grated or minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 avocado, sliced or diced
- 1/3 cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position.
- Halve all but three of the radishes and put those halves on a large baking sheet. Toss with a little olive oil to coat and season well with salt and pepper. Place a scallion on top (whole). Roast for 15 minutes and then add about half of the corn – just scatter the kernels all over the pan, around the radishes. Roast for about 5 minutes more, just to knock the rawness off the corn and to finish the radishes and scallion.
- For the dressing, stir together the mayo and sour cream and add the chopped cilantro. Grate in as much garlic as you like (half a clove might be enough). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- When the veggies are done, put the roasted radishes and corn on a big platter and add the remaining raw corn. Thinly slice the remaining three radishes and scatter/arrange them on the platter as well. Chop and then add the remaining raw scallion (greens and whites), using as much as you like.
- Slice the roasted scallion and add it (both whites and greens) to the dressing.
- Toss the veggies on the platter with the dressing, using as much/little as you like. Add the avocado and sprinkle with crumbled cotija or feta cheese, if you like.
- Serve with fresh lime on the side, for squeezing.
Notes
Don’t care for cilantro? Go ahead and swap in some chopped basil and parsley instead. Fresh dill is fantastic with both corn and radishes, so feel free to rock some of that as well. Grene herbs are important here, but just use the ones you love.