How to Make Fresh Corn Salad - Recipe by Chef David Lawrence - Thankful Thursday
Jul 15, 2010 at 0:15 
A friend of mine emailed me not long ago to tell me about a demonstration cooking class he thought I'd enjoy attending. Why not, I thought. Sounds fun. At the time I wasn't familar with the chef teaching the class - Chef David Lawrence. I did a little homework to check him out. Turns out Chef David has an extensive cooking background, was a personal Chef, and has a cookbook out (Boy Eats World! A Private Chef Cooks Simple Gourmet, [Lake Isle Press]). Needless to say, I decided to attend the cooking class. Of course my friend had me at "cooking" and this sounded like a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. It was. I have to say Chef David is gracious, but best of all he is funny and engaging. For me, the best part of the whole experience was leaving the class feeling empowered. The recipes Chef David showed us and let us taste are easy to make, as well as being the type of recipes you'd be happy to make for your own family or friends. In fact, for this past 4th-of-July dinner I attended with friends, I made Chef David's Fresh Summer Corn Salad. It was a big hit! So much so that what little amount was leftover was requested by a couple of the dinner guests to take home with them. I'll definitely be making this salad again, especially during the summer. I thought you'd enjoy having the recipe, too. Enjoy!
Here's what you will need:
5 - ears of fresh corn, shucked (I used six ears)
1/2 cup small - diced red onion
3 TBSP - extra virgin olive oil (I used Nudo's thyme-infused olive oil)
1/2 tsp - kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp - freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 cup - fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (put in salad just before serving)
Here's what to do:
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color.
When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.
Chef David taught us this cutting tip for corn-on-the-cob. Place a smaller bowl, inverted, inside a larger bowl. It was a great tip, and it works! I cut off the very tip of the corn to create a "flat" surface.
Toss the kernels in the large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings, and serve cold or at room temperature. I served this cold.
For a text-only, printer-friendly version of the recipe, click here.
Nudo, chef, corn, david lawrence, olive oil, salad, summer, thyme in Thankful Thursday
Reader Comments (3)
LOVE the bowl tip! I love the simple solutions that don't require me to by yet another gadget (I have way too many of those), but use things I already have on hand. The salad looks fabulous. I think my family will inhale this!
Rachael, glad you liked the bowl tip. It really does make cutting the corn off the cob easy. It's great to have the corn fall right into the bowl you'll be doing all of your mixing in. And you are so right about being able to use what you already have. We all love those multi-tasking tools!
Yes, great bowl tip!
I love going to cooking classes... even if the recipes are easy to make. For me, the best part is getting to chat with the people around me. Can't do that in a kitchen at home... well, unless I have about 15 people coming over. ;-) [K]