This year I’m holding onto summer as long as I can. Right now, my local greengrocer looks more like a jewellery shop, its tables overflowing with heirloom tomatoes in all colours, shining and plump with juice, and piled high with golden ears of sweetcorn. On a recent visit, I bought as much as I could carry, then I made this salad.
Loosely adapted from a recipe by Sue Li in NYT Cooking, this dish really is a convenient way to eat as much seasonal produce in one sitting as possible. Beautifully ripe late summer heirloom tomatoes are salted and diced, then mixed with the sweetcorn, which is grilled until lightly charred, then shorn from its cobs. Creamy chickpeas (I can’t recommend Bold Bean Co’s Queen Chickpeas enough) make this salad hearty and main-course-worthy and an array of fresh greens and herbs lift it. Then it’s all brought together with a tangy feta and buttermilk dressing that’s also flavoured with charred jalapeños.
A summery salad like this needs a beer that feels equally fitting for the season. This time of year, I can’t drink enough witbier – soft, fragrant and citric, it’s such a sweetly refreshing style. Allagash White and Queer Brewing’s Flowers are two I regularly return to, but this time I went with one of DEYA Brewing Company’s newest releases, Electric Kool Aid, which is dry-hopped with Strata, Citra, and Bru-1. I love the tropical, floral dimension the hops add to this style, and I love the way the beer works alongside the salty feta and sweeter-than-sweet corn.
I’m not at all happy about the prospect of summer coming to an end, but this meal will at least help dull the sting.
Summer Sweetcorn, Tomato, Chickpea and Greens Salad with Feta Dressing
Loosely adapted from NYT Cooking
Serves 6-8 as a main course
For the salad:
6 ears sweetcorn, husked
3-4 jalapeños
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 400g tins chickpeas (or 1 700g jar; I love Bold Bean Co Queen Chickpeas)
160g rocket
120g basil
2 heads little gem lettuce
3-4 large heirloom tomatoes
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, to taste
For the dressing:
200g feta
150ml buttermilk
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
10g chives, thinly sliced
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1. First, set your oven’s grill to high. Line a large baking tray with foil. Arrange the ears of corn in an even layer and drizzle over the olive oil; roll until they’re evenly coated. Add the jalapeños to the tray and coat with the oil, too.
2. Grill the corn and jalapeños for roughly 10-12 minutes, turning them halfway through, or until they’re both charred in places, and the jalapeños are softened. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the other salad ingredients. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Wash the rocket and the basil; remove the basil leaves from their stems. Remove and discard the root ends from the lettuce and slice in half lengthwise before roughly chopping; wash well. Mix all the greens together and dry in a salad spinner or using a clean dish towel.
4. Next, slice the heirloom tomatoes using a serrated knife. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, which will draw out some of the moisture. After around 10 minutes, pat them dry with a paper towel, then roughly chop.
5. When the grilled corn is cool enough to work with, place a small bowl upside down in a larger mixing bowl and stand an ear of corn on top of it. Using a serrated bread knife, slice down the lengths of the cob to remove the kernels, letting them fall into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining cobs.
6. Finally, make the dressing. Add the feta, buttermilk, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil to a food processor (or add to a bowl if you want to use an immersion blender). Blend just until the mixture has come together and is well-incorporated; it won’t be completely smooth. Next, stir through the chives. Destem and finely chop the charred jalapeños and mix to combine. Season with flaky sea salt and black pepper to taste.
7. To serve, add the sweetcorn, chickpeas, rocket, basil, lettuce, and heirloom tomatoes to a very large mixing bowl. Season to taste with flaky sea salt. Add the dressing, and – using salad spoons or your hands – mix until everything is well coated and combined. Divide between plates or bowls and serve right away.
Claire M Bullen is a professional food and travel writer, a beer hound and all-around lover of tasty things. You can follow her at @clairembullen. For more recipes like this, sign up to our HB&B All Killer No Filler beer subscription - you'll receive Claire's recipe and food pairings, plus expert tasting notes, with 10 world-class beers every month.
