Minted Corn and Zucchini Salad

Crunchy sweet corn meets just-tender zucchini in this salad that celebrates summer. The vinaigrette that binds it has touches of mellow onion and bright notes of mint. It’s pretty simple to put together, can be assembled ahead of time, and will wow whoever is gathered for your next celebration.

The original recipe didn’t specify that fresh corn should be used, and frozen corn or vacuum-packed canned corn could certainly work here. But who can resist fresh corn in the summer time?   Shucking a few ears and boiling them up is a quick task, and the color, crunch, and natural sweetness you get in return are worth the effort in my view.

While the ears of corn cool down, you can tend to the zucchini. It’s important to heat the olive oil in the skillet well so that the matchsticks of squash will take on some color but retain a bit of crunch.

Once you remove the zucchini from the skillet, the onions go in, but at a much lower heat. Cooked with the cover on, the onions steam and soften into mellow nuggets of flavor. The last step of cooking is to add garlic, vinegar, and oregano and allow them to marry in flavor with the onions.

While the onions are slowly steaming, you can cut the corn from the cobs. Bright rows of crunchy kernels will be just the right complement to the silken zucchini strips.

Finely chopped fresh mint brings a bright note of color and taste to the salad. I’ve recommended two tablespoons, but you can adjust the amount to your preferences.

You can be flexible about the volume of vegetables here as well. The original recipe called for two pounds of zucchini and one cup of corn. I decided that more equal proportions gave the salad more interest.

We enjoyed this salad during a recent picnic dinner at an outdoor concert. Before the music started, all I could hear is, “Wow, this is crazy good.” Seems this dish hits all the right notes. Have a happy Labor Day celebration!

Minted Corn and Zucchini Salad

Dawn Dobie

Sweet corn and velvet zucchini meet up for a fresh take on summer salad

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 4 ears of fresh corn or 2 1/2 cups corn kernels
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 medium zucchini cut julienne into 2 X 1/4 inch (about 3 cups total)
• 1 medium onion finely diced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar and maybe a bit more
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano crumbled
• 2 tablespoons chiffonade of fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt maybe more
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Additional fresh mint leaves for garnish

Instructions

 

• If using fresh corn, remove husks and silk from ears. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the corn from the water, draining well, and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the zucchini matchsticks. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Cook, tossing the zucchini sticks frequently, until they are lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes.
• Transfer the zucchini to a large bowl.
• Reduce the heat under the skillet to low, add the second tablespoon of oil and the diced onion. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of salt over onion and stir well. Cover skillet and allow onions to slowly cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. They will soften but not brown. Remove the skillet cover.
• Add the minced garlic to the skillet and cook for one minute.
• Add the white wine vinegar and oregano to the onion mixture. Allow to simmer for two minutes, stirring now and then. Pour the onion mixture over the zucchini and toss to combine. Mix in the chopped mint. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
• Add the corn to the zucchini mixture. Taste and add more vinegar, if desired. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
• Refrigerate.
• Garnish with mint leaves to serve.

Notes

Salad can be made and refrigerated several hours ahead. If doing so, keep back half of the chopped mint to add right before serving.