Roasted Corn Salsa

Did you know the best way to keep sweet corn sweet is to store it in the refrigerator? This helps slow down the conversion of the sugars to starches. I only have a small refrigerator here (think slightly larger than one in a dorm room), so I don’t have a lot of space to dedicate to storing corn. But I can’t resisting buying some when it shows up fresh at the market (currently in season here, of course), so I had to think up a quick easy use for the cobs sitting on my refrigerator shelf. I opted for this take on a basic corn salsa, roasting the corn for extra depth of flavor. The rest of the flavors here are pretty traditional (green onion, cilantro, hot pepper, lime), though I did toast the garlic, which I find mellows it perfectly for things like this. This salsa is great as a dip, on tacos, to add a pop of color and flavor to a plate of beans, or as a side for grilled fish or meat.

Roasted Corn Salsa
Yield: about 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 4 ears sweet corn, unshucked
• 2 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 – 2 green onions, green and white parts, finely chopped*
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
• 1 hot pepper, minced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• honey (optional)
• salt, to taste

*My green onions were clearly young red onions, so it made sense to use the white parts in place of red onion – you can, of course, just use about 1/4 of a red onion instead.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Arrange 4 ears sweet corn, unshucked on a roasting pan or baking sheet (or even directly on the oven rack), and roast until the corn is cooked, about 30 minutes. Remove, and set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, in a small cast iron or nonstick pan, dry roast 2 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled over high heat until their skins are darkened in spots, about 5 – 10 minutes.
4. Let the garlic cool slightly, then peel and mince.
5. Shuck the cooled corn, and cut the kernels off of the cob.
6. In a large bowl, combine 1 – 2 green onions, green and white parts, finely chopped, 1/4 cup cilantro, minced, 1 hot pepper, minced, juice of 1 lime, and 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, and stir together.
7. Taste, and add a drizzle of honey, if needed, as well as salt, to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.