A warm street corn salad recipe with buttery roasted corn in a creamy spiced sauce topped with cilantro, tomato and queso fresco. Provides a hint of heat to compliment the light and fruity white wine.
Wine Pairing
Original pairing: Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie General pairings: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, Chardonnay Party & Menu Overview
Need for Speed
This street corn salad is pretty quick to put together and has lots of fresh flavors. It was a good middle course to serve between more complex dishes. Not a lot of prep time is needed, but I always recommend a mise en plus approach.
Hint of Spice
For the wine we chose, we wanted a little heat, but not too much. It was a very light wine with a bit of fruit notes. So the squeeze of lime and the cilantro garnish was just enough to not overpower.
Specialty Ingredients
Roasted Corn
My go-to ingredient for this dish was Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn. It has a nice smoky flavor that I like, which makes it great to add to chili and soups. I use it often. If your local store doesn’t carry it, you can get it online.
If you have a deep love of grilling and want to roast corn from fresh cobs, go for it. I’m not going into grilling techniques here, but it isn’t that hard to do. Just manage your time well and try not to burn it.
Queso Fresco
This is a mild, tangy, soft and crumbly fresh cheese traditionally made from raw cow milk or a combination of cow and goat I find it pretty easily at my grocery store. But you can substitute with other crumbly cheese. such as Cotijo or a feta.
Planning the Dish
Timing Elements
If you are going to roast the corn, I would make that ahead of time. Otherwise, this is a pretty quick set up the day of the event.
Early Day of Serving: Prep your garnishes and accompaniments first so they are ready to go. I usually do all my fresh garnish prep the morning of. Chop cilantro, tomatoes, lime wedges.
Day of Serving: Allow 20 minutes to make the base of the dish. You can make it ahead and keep warm or put it together just prior to serving.
Time of Serving: Add toppings and garnish right at the end when you are serving
Plating Tips
Serve in a little cup or small bowl so it’s easier scoop up to eat. The yellow corn and white cheese will pop more with a vibrant color (dark blue or black) as contrast.
See Plating Supply ideas under Resources
The garnish on top is the strongest color element. Try to get some height by piling it in the center.
Pairing Alterations
There are many versions of this dish out there in the recipe world. Which means there’s a lot of options for honing the flavors to pair best with your wine.
More Heat
Add chopped jalapenos or other chili peppers to spike up the burn…if you dare.
More Smoke
Add in some smoked paprika or try a smoked sea salt to replace the regular salt.
More Tang
Add in lime zest, more lime juice to bring more lime flavor to the front. You can also add in chopped bell peppers of various colors, make it a fiesta.
