Roasted Corn Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Mint (Greek Style)

This roasted corn salad is sweet roasted corn, juicy cherry tomatoes and crumbled Greek feta, tossed with fresh mint, dill, a little chili and a simple lemon olive oil dressing. It’s crunchy, sweet, salty and a little spicy, and it’s a summer salad I make again and again.

Greeks love corn, roasted or boiled. It’s everywhere at the end of the summer and early fall. When I was little, vendors set up on the street corners grilling corn over charcoal and salting it as it came off the fire. On chilly fall afternoons, when my dad and I were just walking around the city, he’d buy me one. This salad is that salty, smoky corn, with tomatoes, feta and herbs from a Greek summer table.

Overview

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Corn in Greek cooking (kalampoki)

In Greek, corn is kalampoki (καλαμπόκι). We mostly eat it two ways: roasted, or boiled.

On the street. In Greek cities, street vendors grill corn on the cob over charcoal and sell it salted, hot from the grill. For a lot of Greek kids, me included, it’s the taste of walking around town on a cool fall afternoon.

In Crete. My mother’s family is from Chania, and in Crete corn goes into the cooking pot, too. They cut a cob into four pieces and add it to yahni dishes, slow-cooked in olive oil, like horta yahni with wild greens. The corn soaks up the oil and gives the greens a little sweetness.

In this salad. This is my own summer salad, built around that roasted corn and the flavors I grew up with: Greek feta, fresh mint and dill, lemon and good olive oil.

Here is what you need

• Corn on the cob. Three ears give about 2 cups of kernels. Pick ears with bright green, slightly damp husks and yellow silks, and choose the heavy ones: heavier means plumper kernels.
• Cherry tomatoes. The ripest you can find.
• A red chili pepper, such as a Fresno. Use half, a whole one, or two if you’re daring.
• Fresh spearmint. Mint always tastes like summer to me. No mint? Use flat-leaf parsley.
• Fresh dill. Lightly sweet and grassy; it’s what makes the salad taste Greek.
• Greek feta. Always buy a block in brine. Look for PDO Greek feta, such as Mt Vikos or Dodoni, both easy to find in US supermarkets.
• Garlic, onion and spring onion. Just a little of each, for bite.
• Lemon, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt for the dressing.

How to make roasted corn tomato salad

1. Roast the corn. Heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C with a rack in the middle. Husk the corn and pull off the silk. Brush each ear with a little olive oil, wrap it in foil and roast directly on the rack for 30 minutes.
2. For char (optional). Unwrap the corn, set it on a baking sheet and broil 3–4 inches from the heat for 4–6 minutes, turning once or twice, until browned in spots. Or skip the oven and grill the husked, oiled ears over medium-high heat for 10–12 minutes, turning, until tender and charred, like street-vendor kalampoki.
3. Prep the vegetables. While the corn cools, halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the onion, slice the spring onion and mince the garlic. Seed and thinly slice the chili. Chop the mint and dill.

4. Cut the kernels off. Set a small bowl upside down inside a large bowl and stand the cob on it. Slice straight down, close to the cob, and turn it until all the kernels are off. They fall into the big bowl instead of across the counter.
5. Toss and dress. Combine the corn, tomatoes, onions, garlic, chili and herbs in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, the remaining olive oil and a pinch of salt, and toss. Crumble the feta over the top, taste, and adjust the salt and lemon.

What to serve with roasted corn tomato salad

• Off the grill. It’s a natural side for chicken souvlaki skewers, pork souvlaki with pita, Greek lamb burgers or grilled fish.
• A Greek spread. Set it out with tzatziki, warm Greek pita bread and a horiatiki salad.
• With a roast. Like a Classic lemon chicken and potatoes.
• For lunch. Eat a bowl on its own, or spoon some next to a tomato feta sandwich.