Fresh corn, plump blueberries, and feta cheese come together to make the perfect summer salad when combined with a white balsamic dressing.
Quite frankly, corn is one vegetable that I don’t choose to eat very often. It’s just so, well, corny. I will almost always choose Special K over Corn Flakes, flour tortillas over corn tortillas, and French fries over an ear of corn when the choice is left up to me. Is it that corn, the one veggie that is commonly known for coming out pretty much the same way that it went in, isn’t to be trusted? Nah, not really, although, I will admit that I think we all find the oddity of this mysterious proven fact to be just a tad bit unnatural. In my case, however, it has no actual bearing on my view of this often sought-out summer vegetable.
I think that in reality, the real reason for my disdain towards corn can most likely be attributed to the fact that I simply ate way too damn much of it as a child. Each year we grew one very decent-sized field of corn, which meant that each year, little ol’ me spent the summer weeding the field, planting the corn, weeding between each corn stalk, weeding again, weeding one more time, and yes, you guessed it, weeding again. Eventually, the corn would be ready to pick, which finally put an end to what seemed like the never-ending weeding. Praise Jesus. Then it was time to shuck all of that corn and process it for later consumption, which often meant making the kitchen of our house with no AC steamy as all get out. I think we can all see why my feelings toward corn are a little on the bitter side, right?
Well y’all, this addictive, simple, light, healthy, and quick-to-throw-together “Berries and Balsamic” corn-based side salad has changed all of my feelings of ill will when it comes to corn. I alone ate the entire bowl of this delightfully sweet and salty Improv Cooking Challenge-inspired summer goodness. Sure, it may have been because B.O.B. Bob was off traipsing around the country, however, the point is that I could have easily chosen to ignore its existence in our fridge or even shared some with my neighbors as I am so wont to do. Not this time though. Nope, this time around it was me and a blueberry and feta studded corn salad marinated in a white balsamic dressing, who found ourselves facing one another each evening with only a very large spoon between us.
Ingredients:
- 8 Ears of Corn, Fully Cooked
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons White Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Chives, Finely Chopped
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup Fresh Blueberries
- 1/2 Cup Feta, Crumbled
Directions:
- Place a soup bowl upside down inside of a large glass bowl. Place the bottom of each corn cob on the upside-down soup bowl and then use a serrated knife to cut the corn off of each corn cob. Remove the soup bowl from the large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, chives, pepper, and salt.
- Stir the oil and vinegar mixture into the corn until well combined.
- Gently fold the fresh blueberries and crumbled feta into the corn mixture.
Suggestions:
- While the bowl inside of a bowl corn removal technique works pretty decently, there are also several kitchen gadgets that you can purchase online to help you remove corn from the cob.
- You can cook the corn in whatever way you find to be the easiest for you. I chose to place mine on the grill still inside of the husk because it makes it easier to remove all of the corn silk from each cob.
- Try using different varieties of white balsamic vinegar in this recipe. I personally used one with a pomegranate quince flavor. If you don’t have white balsamic vinegar, you can always use traditional balsamic vinegar instead, however, traditional balsamic vinegar will darken the corn and the feta making them less attractive.
Improvements:
- Add finely diced red onion or scallions to the corn mixture.
- In lieu of feta, try using cotija or queso fresco in this corn salad.
Crumble bacon over the blueberry, corn, and feta salad before serving.
Crumble bacon over the blueberry, corn, and feta salad before serving.
Ingredients:
- 8 Ears of Corn, Fully Cooked
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons White Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Chives, Finely Chopped
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup Fresh Blueberries
- 1/2 Cup Feta, Crumbled
Directions:
- Place a soup bowl upside down inside of a large glass bowl. Place the bottom of each corn cob on the upside-down soup bowl and then use a serrated knife to cut the corn off of each corn cob. Remove the soup bowl from the large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, chives, pepper, and salt.
- Stir the oil and vinegar mixture into the corn until well combined.
- Gently fold the fresh blueberries and crumbled feta into the corn mixture.
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TASTE OF HOME FEATURED RECIPE
This “White Balsamic Blueberry, Corn and Feta Salad” recipe has been featured in Taste of Home. CLICK HERE to see the recipe. This recipe was a Runner-Up in the 2018 Taste of Home Superstar Sides Contest.
Please make sure to check out the other great “Berries and Balsamic” Improv Cooking Challenge recipes below.
- Balsamic Berry Crostini from Cookaholic Wife
- Balsamic Berry Hand Pies from Elisabeth Jean
- Berry & Balsamic Flatbread from Stuff & Nonsense
- Italian Berry Mule from Elisabeth Jean
- Peach and Strawberry Platter with a Balsamic Drizzle from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Strawberry Caprese Pasta Salad from Palatable Pastime
- White Balsamic Blueberry, Corn, and Feta Salad from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
